Survivor
by IBrokeBad
Summary: Dean wakes up on an island with no memory of how he got there. One by one Dean finds his brother, an angel, two original vampires, a ripper, and a doppelganger and realizes they have more in common than they think. Together they get forcibly shuttled from universe to universe, struggling to find out what they're there for while battling nature, robots, dragons, and even each other.
1. Chapter 1: Eye of the Tiger

**Author's Note: I don't own anything except for all the nonsense I make up!**

* * *

><p>There are times when Dean Winchester thinks he should just die. God knows it would be easier. Well, it would be if he goes to heaven.<p>

That won't be happening.

These are his exact thoughts as his eyes open to a blinding sun. He's stiff and his brain feels like it's too big for its skull. He stays still for several moments, waiting for the pain to give it a rest.

Hot sand scratches at his bare arms. Half of his body is slightly wet-

Holy shit, something is crawling on his leg. It's probably just a bug, but it feels bigger, Dean ponders warily as it tickles his knee.

_PINCH_. He leaps to his feet, kicking the thing off. It's a baby crab. The poor guy gets flung all the way across the sand.

Dean grumbles tiredly as he squints around. He's on a beach. A beautiful one. The green leaves of tropical trees flutter in the cool wind. The sky is clear and blue, and warmth presses his skin.

"Sammy!" he calls. He pats his damp pockets. _Squish._ His phone is gone. Damn. "Sam!"

The ocean waves are the only ones that respond, hissing at him. _Thanks ocean. I really appreciate it._

"SAMMY!" he shouts. No answer. A strange feeling of dread pokes his gut. "SA-!"

"Hello?!" A voice comes from the jungle, inland. It sounds muffled and uncertain.

"Who's there?" Dean says. _God, I sound like I'm in a tacky horror movie,_ he thinks irritably.

A man steps out from behind the trees. He looks bewildered as he trudges through the sand towards Dean, who just hopes he's not a creep. He really doesn't want to deal with that right now.

"Excuse me, this may sound strange, but do you know where I am?" the man says, stopping in front of Dean at an acceptable distance, just far enough for him to see his face. Dean approves. The man's thick eyebrows tug towards each other as he peers at him, the sunlight splashing against his blank complexion. His face is smooth and youthful with the shadows of his browbone covering his eyes.

"I wish I could help you, man," Dean says. "But I may have drank myself to sleep last night and I can't remember a thing." There. That's probably it. He'd gotten drunk. But then, why doesn't this guy know where they are either? He must've gotten drunk too. _Just a coincidence_, Dean's thinks._ Please be a coincidence this time, for the love of all that is good_-_Wait_,_ why the hell's he wearing a suit-?_

"You don't know where we are either?" the man interrupts Dean's inner dialogue.

"Nope. No idea."

There is a long silence as they look around and Dean resumes his musings-

"What _do_ you remember?" the man asks. Dean looks at him. His hands are tucked into his pants pockets. He looks a little comfortable. Too comfortable for a man wearing a black suit on a scorching beach. Meanwhile Dean's sweating puddles.

"I was driving down to Baton Rouge with my brother," Dean says slowly, struggling to recall. "And something bad happened after that. . ." He remembers sitting in the Impala, driving as usual, music blasting, Sam to his right. Then he hits the brakes hard. The high pitched squeal of the wheels pulling against the asphalt still grinds his ear drums.

"Well, what was it?"

His headache intensifies. "I don't know."

The man sighs. "I can't say that I remember any more than you."

"What d'you say we head inland? Look for a phone or something?" Dean suggests.

"Sure. I don't know how I don't have mine, I wouldn't have left anywhere without it."

They begin their trek with determination, both silent as they move, dodging branches and flapping leaves. Once or twice Dean swears that he sees the stranger flinch at the sight of a flower, which Dean thinks looks slightly out of place amidst the tropical plants-not that Dean is very well versed in botany- but he dismisses it as some fear due to allergy or something rational like that.

"Do you have a name?" the stranger suddenly asks.

"Dean." Dean says, swatting irritably at an insect. He hates that damn buzzing sound they make.

"I'm Stefan. Nice to meet you."

Dean grunts in the most friendly manner he can muster. He wishes Sam were here. At least then he wouldn't be the only one responsible for holding a conversation with this guy. Stefan seems like the brooding type and Sam is too. They're practically best friends already.

"You never told me what you remember." Dean says. The pain directly behind his eye sharpens. It won't be long until he feels the urge to punch himself in the face.

"I was at a funeral." Stefan says, eyes cast downward.

"Oh." _Definitely a brooder. For good reason_.

"It was sort of a group funeral. A bunch of friends died recently."

"I'm sorry." _Oops_.

Stefan shrugs. "It happens." _No it doesn't_.

Dean eyes Stefan. "How many?" Sam would've crapped his pants if he heard Dean ask that. Hell, even Dean feels like an ass for that one.

Stefan clears his throat. "Four." His eyes look distant. Dean can hear the girls flocking this way. Stefan just shrugs it off. "I don't know, it just seems like death doesn't surprise me anymore. Dead family and all."

"I've been there." Dean admits. Partly because of the despondent look on Stefan's face. He does feel bad after all. He knows how hard death hits better than anybody. Sometimes there's nothing gentle about it. "And it sucks ass."

Stefan looks surprised, but doesn't ask. Instead he says, "So you and your brother, why were you headed to Baton Rouge?"

"For a job. A case."

"Are you a detective?" Stefan asks.

"Something like that."

Suddenly Dean freezes, sensing something. Stefan does too, head turned, listening. There's some obnoxious rustling of leaves and classic breaking of twigs. A familiar voice is what Dean hears next. "Hello?"

"Cas?!" Dean shouts. Relief quickly replaces his nerves. "Cas, is that you, buddy?"

Stefan watches in confusion as a trenchcoated man stumbles out of the trees. His coat is torn and he looks incredibly sweaty.

"Dean!" he says in relief. His childlike blue eyes look at Dean happily. "I don't know what's going on, but I woke up here-"

"So did we." Stefan says.

Cas ignores Stefan. "Do you think we're in Purgatory, Dean?"

"We can't be. This place is too-"

"Purgatory?" Stefan asks, surprised. "Like the afterlife?"

"Yes." Cas says, raising a black eyebrow. He extends a hand to Stefan. "My name is Castiel."

"I'm Stefan," he says, taking the hand. "What makes you think we're in Purgatory?"

Dean and Cas look at each other. Dean shakes his head. "It's nothing-"

"Because I met two vampires-" Castiel starts.

"What? Cas, don't-"

"I am telling the truth, Dean."

Stefan's eyes widen. "What did they look like?"

Dean raises his eyebrows at his eager expression. He looks hopeful. The brightness is an alarming contrast to the gloom Dean had detected on his face just moments prior.

"They were both blonde. . .and British," Cas says.

Stefan's face darkens again. Back to brooding.

"Do you know them?" Dean asks, now looking at Stefan, who is quite unshocked by Castiel's theories of purgatory and vampires.

"Yes."

Dean pauses hesitantly before asking, "Friends?"

"No. Maybe a long time ago, but definitely not now." Stefan frowns.

"What are you?" Dean asks. He doesn't think it's possible that he can be more confused, but he is. He really is.

Stefan eyes Dean and Cas warily. "I could ask you two the same question."

* * *

><p>Elena can't feel her arm. She opens her eyes, blinking several times to dissipate the drowsiness. She's soaked, and the sound of rushing water surrounds her. There is a nauseating feeling of vertigo as she regains her sense of direction. Her right arm feels numb. She looks at the limb, waiting for her vision to come into focus for a moment before screaming.<p>

The shout echoes, colliding with the rocky walls.

Her arm is still there, thank God, but a thick, thorny vine is wrapped tightly around it, digging unsympathetically into her skin. She sees blood. A lot of it. She looks down and her eyes widen.

She is dangling hundreds of feet above a loud waterfall. The only thing keeping her from falling to her death is the vine around her upper arm. She's surprised that it hasn't ripped off by now.

Her breathing quickens as her big brown eyes dart around frantically. Nothing. Nothing. There-a large group of vines hangs several feet behind her. She also notices that much farther to her left is a small ledge.

She calms herself, thinking through her options. Option one: swing like Tarzan to those vines and take the weight off of her arm. Option two: swing to the ledge, hoping that it's sturdy, and try to unknot her arm from there. And option three: attempt to untie her arm now and just fall, hoping that she hits clear water.

Sweat lines her body in the humidity as she eliminates the third option. There are too many rocks down there. The ledge doesn't look too promising either as it's much farther than the bundle of vines, but she thinks that a more productive choice. Right now, saving her arm from amputation is all she's thinking of.

So she swings her body towards it.

"AAARRGH!" She yelps as the vine clenches around her arm, which is well past numb and is approaching dead. Her brown hair flies behind her as she propels forward. Stretching her feet, they just barely brush the ledge before she pendulums back. She grits her teeth and swings harder.

After the third swing she gets her feet on the rocky ledge. Her feet almost slip out from beneath her, but she maintains balance. The vine attached to her arm is now stretched as far as it can reach. She tugs hurriedly at it, at least happy that it isn't pulling at her arm anymore.

Her fingers are bleeding when she finally frees herself. She lets go of the treacherous vine and sighs in relief. Sitting for a moment, she inspects her injury and winces at the sight of her mangled arm.

A bitter laugh escapes her mouth. She thinks of the last time she was this hurt and had no means of healing herself. It was when she was still in high school and she broke her ankle cheerleading. She'd never been injured longer than a minute ever since.

"That's what happens when you're friends with vampires." Elena mutters to herself. Many other consequences of her choice of friends come to mind, but she quickly forgets them. There's no use dwelling on that now.

Just when she is about to stand, the rock she's perched on jerks forward. She shrieks as it slides precariously towards the falling water. Quickly, she glances around for a stable surface and finds none. The vines are now too far to jump to. She has only a split second to realize that she has to fall.


	2. Chapter 2:These Things Don't Just Happen

There is a mighty groan as the giant man sits up. A frog ribbits at him. The loud buzz of insects overwhelm him. Sam clutches his head as the throbbing pain starts.

He bonks his head on a branch as he stands. This doesn't help his headache. He squints at the surrounding jungle, his large frame taking up more space than there is between trees, looking first for Dean, and second for anything that might kill him.

When he sees neither he pats his now unnecessary jacket for his cell phone. Coming up with nothing, Sam sighs, and shrugs off his jacket when he begins to sweat. It looks like mid-day as he eyes the sky, finding some sense of direction.

After several seconds of contemplation and having no idea how he ended up here, he decides for no real reason to head east, hoping that it will lead to civilization.

He walks in silence for what feels like an hour before he hears a feminine scream.

Sam, being the hero that he is, bolts towards the noise. The closer he gets, the louder the sound of water hitting land gets. Soon he emerges from the jungle into a rocky clearing. He stands in front of what looks like a spring after an incredibly high water fall.

Dropping his jacket, he searches for the source of the voice. His ears strain to pick up some sort of clue. He begins to believe that it's his imagination when an enormous boulder crashes into the spring, splashing gallons of water onto him, drenching him from head to toe.

He shakes his long hair like a wet dog and looks up. His eyes widen when he spots a woman hurtling down towards the water.

"Holy-"

But she hits the water, sinking down fast. There is a brief moment when Sam thinks that she's dead. Then he sees the top of her head surface. Then her whole face. She is gasping. He stares at her, both shocked and relieved.

The young woman begins to laugh hysterically. Probably because she just survived that impossible fall.

"Hey, are you okay?!" Sam asks, nearing the water.

The girl stops laughing and turns to look at him in surprise. _She has kind eyes_, Sam thinks.

"Yes." she glances around with uncertainty. "You saw?"

"You practically falling from the sky? Yes," Sam says with an awkward laugh.

He waits as the girl wades toward dry land. Her dark hair looks like it's adhered to her round face as she steps out of the water.

"Oh my God, what happened to your arm?!" Sam asks, staring at her bloody appendage. The water seems to have washed most of it off, but there is still a continuous flow.

"It's fine." She says . "Could you just take me to a hospital?"

Sam grabs his jacket and offers it for her to put on the wound. "I would if I knew where it was."

She sighs. "Do you have a phone?"

"No phone."

"Damnit." the girl mutters, taking the jacket. "What the hell is going on here?" Something about her confusion registers in Sam's brain.

"Wait, you don't remember how you got here either?" Sam asks.

She stares at him. "No, I don't." She winces as she presses the cloth onto her arm. "It's like everything that happened yesterday was a dream and I just woke up here." She frowns. "Well not here, but up there-" she points to the vines hanging high up overhead.

"I woke up in the jungle." Sam shakes his head. "I guess I was lucky."

* * *

><p>"He's an angel?" Stefan looks skeptical. "And you're a hunter?"<p>

"And you're a vampire." Cas says. Dean's jaw drops, immediately analyzing Stefan for telltale signs of a vampire. He's a hunter, how the hell would he miss something like that?

"That's it!" Dean points accusingly at Stefan's puff of hair. "He's got the damn Pattinson hair! How did I not see it before-?"

"How did you know?" Stefan asks Cas, ignoring Dean's outburst.

Cas shrugs. "You have a relatively dark aura. Not one of someone who is alive. And that bewitched ring on your finger leaves a pretty big print."

Dean glances down at it. It's a simple, heavy looking ring. "Bewitched?"

"It lets me walk comfortably during the day."

"How nice." Dean comments dryly. "I'm stuck on an island with a vampire."

"And me." Cas says in what Dean supposes is meant to be a comforting voice.

"So, as I was saying, this can't be purgatory because I haven't died." Dean says, now regarding Stefan with a whole new sense of caution. His body is very clearly leaning in the opposite direction. _It's a wonder he hasn't eaten me yet._

Then, the tree in front of them snaps, seemingly out of nowhere. It's splintered stalk teeters towards them, the shadow darkening the area completely.

Stefan speeds out of the way, further proving his vampire status. Not that Cas and Dean are watching, because they are both avoiding being crushed. The tree lands with a thud.

"How the hell did that happen?" Dean says after catching his breath.

"Ah, Stefan, so nice to see you here." A smooth, English voice says. A blonde man and woman appear. Dean feels Cas stiffen next to him. "We almost killed you." The man adds unnecessarily, with little remorse. Dean thinks he looks a little arrogant for a man whose shirt is in shreds, and whose hair is damp and flattened.

"Klaus." Stefan says, voice strained. "How unlike you not to try to kill us with your bare hands."

"I thought I'd be more subtle than that." The British man smirks, stepping closer to him. "I do apologize, we thought you were that hunter oaf that tried to kill us this morning."

"That was me." Cas says. "And I'm not a hunter. Or an oaf. I'm an angel of the Lord."

"Oh." Klaus says, fairly surprised, but still aloof. "Well, my sister and I don't appreciate it."

"Who's this?" the blonde woman asks, looking at Dean. Her tone sounds haughty, like she'd rather not be talking to any one of them right now. Dean decides that he doesn't like either of them. They tried to crush them with a tree. Who _does_ that?

"Rebekah, this is Dean." Stefan says. "And that's Castiel."

"Dean Winchester?" Klaus asks, eyes suddenly alight with interest.

"Yes?" Dean says. "How do you know my-?"

"You and your brother are a bit famous." Klaus says with a grin. "Who would've thought I'd meet you on this meager little island? Is Sam here as well?"

"I don't know." Dean says, clearly uncomfortable with this stranger knowing so much about him.

"That explains a lot, doesn't it?" Rebekah murmurs to Klaus, whose eyebrows lower in thought.

"What? What explains a lot?" Dean demands. _Goddamnit, I'm tired and lost and sunburned and I can't find my brother, _Dean thinks. He is getting more and more irritated the less he knows. The sharp pain strikes his temple. He's surprised steam isn't already being expelled from his ears. _Someone had better explain to me what's going on or I'm gonna stab somebody._

"You and your brother messed with death too many times. This is what happens." Rebekah says. She crosses her arms as if to say he should've known better than to come back to life.

"What is she talking about, Cas?" Dean snaps. The angel's expression is grave.

"Legend has it, there is a boundary that was set by heaven. We never thought it would be crossed." His blue eyes are hard as he explains. "It is meant to keep the supernatural and natural worlds balanced. But it's just a story-"

Dean shakes his head in disbelief, running a hand through his hair, "What did we do this time?"

"You're right, Dean, you didn't die. That's just it. You and Sam are still alive. Who knows how many times over you should be dead by now?"

There is a heavy pause. Crickets chirp.

"Then why are we here?" Stefan asks.

Klaus sighs. "We're here because we cheated death. All of us. And he doesn't like to be cheated."

"So what happens? We die here?" Dean asks.

"Unfortunately, the trap was set by Gabriel." Cas says. "So there's no way of knowing what he'll put us through."

Dean groans loudly. "Knowing him it'll be humiliation followed by an equally embarrassing death."

"Whoa, what? You know the angel Gabriel?" Stefan asks incredulously.

"He may be an angel, but he's one big pain in the ass." Dean says. He turns to Cas, "So you think Sam's here?"

"He's died as many times as you, Dean." Cas says. "Of course he's here."

* * *

><p>Sam and Elena get along immediately. They don't know how, but being in each other's company has prevented either of them from losing their minds.<p>

It's been three days.

Three long days.

They quickly develop a system to keep them from madness and starvation. Sam takes care of the food and Elena takes care of the shelter, then they switch off. They'd had fish and coconuts for days and slept under a small shack made of bamboo and banana leaves that protects them from the rain. They'd hoped that they would've reached somewhere-anywhere, by now. But they've had no luck.

At first, all he knows about her is her name and all she knows is his name.

But they soon realize they both have brothers. They share and laugh at each other's funny stories. Sam learns that Elena is possibly the nicest person he's ever met. She never complains, despite his poor efforts at dinner. She's surprisingly low maintenance. It isn't until after the first day that Sam sees how deep her sadness runs. When she thinks he doesn't see her, her face always falls. She tells him that four of her friends have just died.

Sam reminds Elena of Jeremy, she's told him. She thinks he's sweet. Sam doesn't appreciate that comment.

When they aren't hiking around in search of help, they mostly sit in silence, perfectly content. Other times they talk about silly things, like high school dances and ACT scores.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of here?" Elena asks. They're sitting by their campfire as another day comes to a close. "Or do you think we'll be forced to live here forever?"

"It wouldn't be the worst thing," Sam replies. "I mean, there's a beach about half an hour's walk from here."

"But you miss Dean, don't you?" she says.

"Of course I do," he says sullenly, lying on the soft grass by their fire. "But maybe I'm here for a reason. I don't know, maybe this is my break from life."

"This may look like paradise, Sam, but this isn't a break." Elena says, stabbing his dream bubble none too gently. "Or did you forget, we were almost mauled by a boar this morning?"

"I'd take the boar over the shit I've had to deal with all my life." He looks at her. "Trust me, this is better."

She quiets at that. He wonders what her life was like before this. Was it any better than his? Judging by her silence, it definitely wasn't.

They sit noiselessly for several moments. And then they hear a deafening screech.

* * *

><p>Dean's beard is growing in. He scratches at it absently. It's been three days and they still haven't found anything. If they're headed anywhere it's in a circle. They'd reached the same beach Dean had first woke up on this morning. Dean had cursed Gabriel to hell while Klaus and Rebekah resumed their routine bickering. Stefan and Cas had just silently scowled.<p>

They are resting on the beach when they hear a loud screech. The group tenses and looks around, alert. They'd been wandering for days and hadn't run into trouble. Why would danger suddenly strike today?

Then the screech sounds again. The hairs on Dean's arms raise.

He stands, quickly holding onto the spear he fashioned out of bamboo. The three vampires listen stiffly. The angel looks confused.

Screeeeeech. Adrenaline begins to pump. SCREEEEECH. Dean readies his weapon, aiming it in the direction of the sound. Palm trees shudder from the power of some unknown force.

The sound repeats, this time multiple times, over and over, growing in intensity. Dean grits his teeth tight and resists the urge to clap his hands over his ears.

"Help!" a distant voice cries faintly over the noise.

"Sammy?!" Dean shouts. He lowers his weapon, eyes wide and sweeping left and right frantically.

"Dean!"

"Sammy!" Dean runs. He doesn't know where he's headed but runs, feet pounding into the sand, ears straining to hear past the screeching. Distantly he comprehends Stefan calling after him.

"Dean, stop!" Stefan says, suddenly appearing next to him. Dean ignores him, pushing the vampire aside.

Stefan mutters something incoherently and stomps after him. "Dean, you can't just run after something when you don't know-"

"I heard Sam, okay?" Dean yells, still clearly distressed. "I heard him call for help." The screeches are getting louder.

"I know, I heard it too, but we can't just run without a pla-" Stefan stops short, his gold eyes round. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Dean shouts over the chaos._ What the hell, Stefan, you can't just ask 'what was that?', there are too many freaking noises to just-_

Then he hears it.

"Help! Someone help!" It's a woman's voice this time.

"Elena?" Stefan yells.

"Who's Elen-"

"Stefan?! Stefan, we're here!" The woman's voice calls, almost hoarse from making herself heard.

Suddenly the screeching stops.

Dean and Stefan glance around. They can still see Klaus, Rebekah, and Cas on the other side of the beach where they'd left them. All Dean hears is his own breathing combined with the ragged, nervous breaths coming from the vampire next to him.

"Sammy?" Dean calls. The quiet is loud.

"Elena?" Stefan shouts.

"Dean, we're here! In the water!" They hear Sam's muffled voice.

Dean spins around, eyes raking aggressively through the waves.

"There!" Stefan says, immediately zooming towards something. Dean bolts after him.

As he's running he sees that it is an iron coffin sitting in the shallow part of the water. Cold water sloshes about his ankles as he hurries forward. He can hear what he can only imagine are his brother's fists pounding against the lid.

Dean sees Stefan reach it before him, but just as he tries to rip the cover off, he recoils.

"Vervain," he says, frowning. Dean nods, understanding. Stefan had explained the herb's effects on vampires the other day. That purple flower he'd seen before. So he places his hands on it, trying to pry it open. It doesn't budge.

"Sammy, are you okay?" Dean says loudly, leaning against the iron.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just get me out of here." His voice sounds tired and weary. "I don't know what's going on, Dean."

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asks as Dean attempts to use his spear as a means of leverage to pop off the lid.

"I-I'm sorry-" Sam struggles. "She's in here. I don't know if she's still breathing." Dean can hear his voice shaking.

"Oh, God," Dean hears Stefan say. He doesn't know who Elena is, but is assuming she's one of the few friends Stefan has left.

The water slaps against the coffin.

"It's okay, Sam, we'll get you both out." Dean says. "I promise."

* * *

><p>Dean doesn't give up. Stefan is desperately shouting now. The rest of the group had already gathered around.<p>

"Elena! Elena, please answer me-"

"Stefan, this thing's not moving." Dean finally says, chucking what is left of his bamboo spear aside. It has long since snapped into pieces from his multiple attempts.

"Dean, I don't know how much longer I'll last in here." Sam says quietly. It is almost inaudible behind the metal barrier.

"Cas, do something!" Dean roars.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I'm useless here." Cas says, eyeing the coffin. It's welded shut. Dean can't imagine how they got in there in the first place. Probably the same way they all got onto this hell of an island.

"There goes your dopplegänger, Nik." Rebekah says rather unsympathetically. Klaus shoots her an ungrateful look. They all stand about uselessly, completely at a loss as to what to do.

Stefan, golden eyes crazed, plants both hands on the coffin and pulls with all his might. Dean hears the material groan from the pressure. He sees Stefan's hands begin to discolor and burn with a sharp sizzle. Stefan cries out but keeps trying.

"Why is it so quiet?" Dean asks suddenly. Stefan stops. All they hear are the waves hitting the metal. "Sam?" Dean shouts. "Sam, stay with me!"

There is a disturbingly long pause before Sam speaks. "Dean, I think Elena's dead."

"No, no, she can't be! I can still hear her heartbeat." Stefan says. They stay silent as Stefan listens. Dean watches his face. At first it's hopeful, then slowly it morphs into despair as Dean can guess her heartbeat is coming to a stop.

"No." Stefan says. He slumps down into the water, kneeling.

Dean shakes his head and continues pulling at the metal, "No. No, we're not done, we have to keep trying!"

Immediately, Castiel joins him, pulling with his too human strength. Stefan, looking hopeful, takes up the opposite side. It still doesn't budge.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Klaus says, appearing at Dean's other side. Dean hears the original's skin protest the contact with the coffin. "Come on, Rebekah, give us a hand."

The blonde rolls her eyes, muttering, "This girl's more trouble than she's worth," before standing next to Cas. No sooner had she placed one hand on the coffin did the lid suddenly fly off, landing in the water with a loud splat.

"Sam?" Dean says, peering into the metal container. And he sees him. He is still alive and his face is distant. Sam's eyes look at Dean and there's a mixture of sadness and happiness in his eyes. Dean releases a sigh of relief.

He sees that Sam's hand is holding someone else's. It is a small hand. _This is the person who is responsible for Sam and Stefan's wet eyes,_ Dean thinks. Before he can get a look at her, Stefan steps in front of him and pulls her limp body out. He sees her arm dangle at Stefan's side.

Dean reaches his hand out for Sam, who takes it and pulls himself out. The two brothers embrace for a long time. When they release each other, Sam smiles weakly and looks behind Dean, who follows his line of sight to Stefan.

He is crouched next to Elena's body, which is still hidden behind his. All they can see are her legs as Stefan does compressions. After a few minutes, Stefan just gives up and bites his wrist open. Before Dean or Sam can question it, Stefan presses the wound to Elena's mouth. Dean thinks he hears Stefan mutter an apology.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sam demands, moving to stop him. Dean puts a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Sam, he's a vampire."

Sam is only momentarily surprised. "And that makes it okay?"

"He has to see if he can heal her." Dean explains. Over the last few days, he'd experienced their breed of vampire to the fullest. Apparently Klaus and Rebekah are from the family of original vampires, and Klaus is some sort of hybrid vampire and werewolf. And Stefan is a doppelgänger, who is also a vampire, which Dean still doesn't understand even a little bit. And Dean had thought he'd seen it all.

Sam looks conflicted. After a few moments of them watching Stefan 'feed' her, he says, "She never told me she was friends with a vampire."

"Vampires." Klaus corrects. He looks at Elena strangely, as if he isn't sure what to feel. "And werewolves and witches."

Sam releases a bitter laugh. "All that time we spent together, and not once did anything supernatural come up. Who would've thought?"

"So Elena is also a dopplegänger?" Dean asks Rebekah.

Rebekah looks at Klaus knowingly, then back at Dean. "That's a long story, darling."

Dean frowns and is about to ask for yet another explanation when Stefan gasps. The five that are standing quickly circle him and Elena. They see color returning to her face and faint wound on her arm start to disappear completely.

"Would you look at that. . ." Dean says. "And to think we're here because we cheat death."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Helloooo, thanks so much for reading! They're all still very wary of each other and all, but trust me, there's still plenty of craziness to come. The characters will definitely do some hardcore bonding with each other. I like to think of them as my little Supernatural Breakfast Club. Or maybe my little band of heroes/antiheroes.**

**Anyway, I just wanted to clarify that the Sam, Dean, and Cas characters are pretty much following cannon up until season 9. Meanwhile, most of the Vampire Diaries characters are the same, except Elena isn't a vampire. The rest of their backstories will be revealed throughout the story, (which four friends of Elena and Stefan do you think died?) as well as which characters will find friendship, love, etc. I hope you enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3: Staying Ali--

"I can't." Cas huffs, giving up and throwing down the wooden sticks. Starting a fire is something that shouldn't have been left up to him.

Rebekah smiles and picks them up. "Here, I'll show you."

Castiel watches as she rubs the sticks firmly and briskly together. It isn't long before there are sparks. Then a small fire erupts. She smiles at him for the first time.

"Thank you." Castiel says. He feels funny.

"No problem."

They bring Elena's unconscious body closer to the growing fire. Dark tracks in the sand lead up to her body. She looks peaceful.

* * *

><p>"She'll forget after this." Stefan says with a finality. Sam, Dean, and Stefan are sitting tiredly by the coffin they'd dragged to their camp. "I couldn't bring myself to do it before, but I will. After we get out of this mess." They'd just finished explaining to Sam exactly what 'this mess' is.<p>

"What do you mean?" Dean asks, but he has a feeling he already knows.

"I'll compel her." Stefan says. "My brother and I have ruined her life enough as it is. She needs to move on."

"And you'll do this without her permission?" Sam asks, still slightly wary of the presence of three vampires that can compel him to do whatever they please.

"I already know what she'd say." Stefan says. "She'd say that no matter how sad she is, she won't want it. She's strong like that. But she doesn't understand. She's young. She can have a long, beautiful life if she forgot about all the shit we put her through-"

"Don't make that decision for her, man." Dean says. "Trust me, it'll come back to bite you in the ass."

Stefan sighs and lays back in the sand, but doesn't reply. Dean looks at him and sees a self-hatred so fierce he almost flinches. The guilty grit of his teeth. The angry eyes. It looks a little too familiar to him.

* * *

><p>A voice interrupts the long silence.<p>

"Hello."

Dean leaps to his feet and blinks a few times. He doesn't know how long he'd been asleep. Beside him, Sam and Stefan get up too. One of them much more gracefully than the other.

There in front of them is Gabriel. He looks the same as ever. Smirking. This time he's wearing a Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks. If there's anyone that looks farthest from an angel it's him. But he is one. Which just goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by its blahblahblah-

"Gabriel." Dean says.

"Yes, that's my name." the trickster says. "And since you know that, you should also know by now not to mess with my plans."

"What plans? You mean the one to kill us all?" Sam asks. Stefan moves to lunge at Gabriel, but is only blocked by Dean who stops him with a rigid arm.

"You tried to kill Elena!" Stefan says.

"That I did, Salvatore. Tell me, what was running through your senile old mind when you decided to bring her back?" Gabriel says in irritation. "You know why you're here."

"We're not just going to lay down and die." Stefan says aggressively. "To hell with this balance bullshit-"

"Aww." Gabriel coos. "So out comes the ripper? Is that what you want, to rip me to shreds?"

Stefan snarls animalistically. Dean tightens his arm in front of Stefan.

"Gabriel, don't provoke him." Sam says.

"Why not? I'll kill him right now." Gabriel's smirk grows wider, if that's even possible.

"What is it you want?" Dean asks. "Are we really just here to die? That's a little sick, even for you."

"Gabriel!" It's Castiel speaking as he approaches them, trenchcoat flapping behind him, original vampires in tow. "Why are you here?"

"So this is the famous Gabriel," Rebekah says from beside him. She looks him up and down, unimpressed. Dean had realized over the past few days that neither of the original vampires were often impressed.

"I expected you to be scarier," Klaus says, on Cas's other side.

"Ah, the original vampires. What an honor." Gabriel says sarcastically. "You know, I was laughing during your conception. What a petty species humans can be sometimes."

"The only fool here is you." Klaus says. "You brought all of us here expecting us to just let you have your way with us?"

"Oh, I expected a fight." Gabriel says. "That's what makes it fun." He looks at them all. "And maybe the real fool here is the one who thought it was smart to leave the vulnerable, unconscious girl alone."

They all whirl to look at Elena only to find that Gabriel is already there, standing over her body holding a knife.

"NO!" Stefan roars.

Gabriel crouches down and sinks the knife in her abdomen before anyone can stop him. Elena wakes up, sucking in air in panic. This is the first time Dean sees her eyes. They are a deep brown.

They lock onto Gabriel in confusion. He puts a hand on her shoulder to keep her from struggling. The rest of the group realize that they are frozen, stuck to the sand. Elena clutches Gabriel's arm for dear life. The angel actually looks sad for a moment as her grip on him loosens. Dean sees his mouth move as he whispers something to her and she collapses back to the ground.

When the life leaves her eyes, Gabriel stands and looks at everyone. "Remember that you're all here for a reason." He disappears.

Once they are able to move again, Dean turns to Stefan whose eyes are hard. Sam stares downward. It is horribly quiet.

"I think I hate him." Klaus says.

"Join the club." Dean says.

Castiel sighs. "I don't understand. What is the reason he speaks of if not to kill us? Why did he not just kill us all?"

"Because he doesn't want to kill us." Stefan says dryly. "He hasn't even killed Elena yet."

"What? What do you-?"

"She's turning." Rebekah says as Stefan buries his face in his hands.

When Sam and Dean don't seem to understand right away, Klaus huffs.

"She's going to wake up, and when she does she'll need to feed or else she'll die." Klaus says. "The bastard's just messing with our heads."

"How much will she need to drink?" Sam asks.

"No, Sam, don't even think about it." Dean says. "We are not allowing her to become a vampire. She won't be able to control herself, and we're having a hard enough time as it is without a newborn vampire hanging around trying to eat us-"

"She doesn't need that much." Stefan says with a grimace. "But Dean's right. She might not be able to stop herself from finishing someone."

Dean gives Sam a pointed look. "And obviously, Gabriel meant for us to be arguing about this, so let's just not give him the satisfaction, okay?"

"We should let her decide. You know, talk to her first." Sam suggests.

"She won't hesitate to sacrifice herself." Stefan says. "There's no point."

"What do you mean there's no point?!" Sam yells. "Why am I the only one here that's defending her?"

At that Stefan looks murderous. "How long have you known Elena, Winchester? A few days?" He steps closer to Sam, and Dean moves towards Sam defensively. Stefan continues, "Well, I've known her seven years. And no one has protected her better than me. No one has been there for her longer than me. I've been in love with her. I've been her enemy. I've been her closest friend. So, trust me when I say that the last thing she ever wanted was to become a vampire! It will _destroy her life_."

Everyone is silent. Sam's face softens when he next speaks. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you didn't care about her."

Stefan looks tired as he nods, accepting his apology. "I know. I just wish things were different."

There is a long pause before Dean sighs. "Look, all our lives are at stake here," He says. "So why don't we take it to a vote?"

No one responds.

"Alright. All in favor of her turning?" Dean asks. Klaus and Sam raise their hands. Dean nods. "So the rest of us agree that we should let her go?"

There is unanimous grumbling of assent from the rest of the group. Stefan looks like he really wants to smash his head open on that nearby coconut tree.

"Stefan?" a voice says. They all turn to see Elena, looking bewildered as she walks over to them. One hand is on her abdomen, clutching the bloody fabric sticking to her skin. "Sam? What's going on?"

Dean exhales. Great. Just great. The decision is always harder when he can see the person's eyes. This one in particular had warm, kind eyes that reminded him of his mother's. Not in color, but in a sort of soft strength that takes everyone by surprise.

No one talks as Stefan explains everything to Elena. Her face is very expressive as she listens and Stefan introduces everyone. Once he is finished, she nods. Her mouth is stuck in a nervous bite. The sky is nearly dark now as just the very edge of the sun peers over the horizon. Fireflies fade in and out.

"I don't want to hurt anyone." Elena says. They take that as an agreement. Dean feels a little ashamed now. At least now he understands why Stefan and Sam are so distraught. She's just so . . . good.

"Listen, love, your blood is very valuable and I can't have that going to waste." Klaus says. Before anyone could wonder what he means, he yanks Sam and holds him firmly in his grasp. He angles Sam's head away, exposing his neck, and takes a bite of his flesh.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean shouts, lunging at Klaus without thinking. He doesn't appreciate anyone attacking his brother. Rebekah doesn't appreciate anyone attacking her brother either and shoves Dean, sending him flying. He lands on his back with a thump. Cas runs to his side and helps him stand.

Stefan growls and attacks, only to be tossed aside by Rebekah too. When he approaches a second time, Rebekah promptly snaps his neck. It makes a disgusting cracking noise. Elena screams.

"Stop!" She says angrily, glaring at Klaus and Rebekah. "Damnit, this is my life, I don't owe you anything after all that you've done!"

Dean sees her eyes darken and her eyebrows push together. Sam's neck is bleeding freely now. Klaus places a hand over the wound, just barely keeping him from bleeding out.

"You leave him alone or so help me Klaus I'll-" Dean says. His green eyes are wide with fury. His hands are in fists. The sun is nearly gone.

Klaus laughs maniacally. "I'm not the one you need to protect your precious brother from, Winchester."

"You just tore his neck open-"

"Look at Elena, Dean." Klaus barks, all traces of humor gone from his face. "LOOK AT HER!"

Dean can't help but look. His eyes snap to hers. She looks beyond enraged. Her mouth is open, fangs forcing themselves out, corners turn down. She's trembling and crying. Stefan's crooked body lies just to her left, covered in sand.

"I'm not going to touch him." Elena says with firm resolve, though her face is wet from tears. "You don't get to use me anymore, Klaus."

The sun disappears. All light is gone from the sky. Before anyone can make a move, a loud rumbling comes from somewhere deep within the island.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**For the sake of this story, Klaus still needs Elena's blood, which will still work if she is a vampire:)**


	4. Chapter 4: Rootless Tree

The first thing Dean hears is gunfire. He immediately thinks that's impossible, there are no guns on the island.

Until he realizes that he isn't on the island anymore. He's in the middle of an empty street and the sun is rising.

It had been just a split second. He'd barely even blinked and everyone was gone; Klaus and Sam struggling against each other on the beach. Rebekah looking like she was ready to kill. Cas holding onto Dean's arm, telling him that he had his back. Stefan's limp body and Elena looking at Dean with such an intense gaze that he thinks that he trusts her. They're all gone.

A prompt boom interrupts Dean's confusion. It sounds like an explosion. Looking around, he sees the different greys of the city. Towers block the sun as he jogs down the street, the bright light flashing against him rhythmically as he passes each building.

Little by little he starts to find bodies littering the roads. Some on the pavement and some near abandoned stores, with guns of all kinds laying around. A horrible feeling of apprehension settles in his stomach as he looks closer. Then he sees that they aren't human at all, but they're . . . robots?

* * *

><p>It takes an hour for Dean to find someone. He picks up as many weapons as he can along the way, making sure that they're loaded. He realizes that he's getting closer to sounds of gunfire and braces himself. The loud beating of it is deafening as he turns a corner of a building. His green eyes widen.<p>

Dozens of those things are lined up. Their faces are hard and metallic, frozen in one expression for the rest of their lives. Their inanimate eyes stare at their targets as they cower behind a parked car- BANGBANGBANG!- their guns rattle in their pinched hands with every shot. Holes puncture the car's exterior.

Peering around the corner, Dean is glad he is still unnoticed. He has only one automatic and one shotgun. He takes a deep breath and, without further hesitation, takes a singular step out of his hiding spot.

He takes out about three before crouching back behind the building's corner. It's a flower shop, he notices absently. _That's probably why it smells so nice_.

"Dean!" A voice shouts.

It's Sam. Dean glances in his direction. Sam is ducking behind that car as the robots continue their fire, despite Dean's interference. Dean releases a short breath of relief when he sees that his neck looks miraculously healed. Next to him is Rebekah, her blond hair whipping about as a harsh breeze hits.

Sam and Dean lock eyes, and Dean signals for him to go around the other side of the car. Sam nods and Dean sees him gesture for Rebekah to follow him. He wonders briefly why she is afraid of getting shot.

* * *

><p>Elena feels pathetic. <em>I am pathetic<em>, she thinks, as she ignores the pounding in her ears. She squints. _The sun is too bright_.

She staggers towards an empty looking department store and wrenches at the doorknob. The familiar ding of the doorbell as she swings it open is aggravatingly loud.

Breathing hard, she glances around. She spots a rack of sunglasses and snatches a pair. She pushes them on and clutches at her head, which seems to be grabbing at every possible sound around her, from the distant clatter of gunfire to the rustle of magazines pages as she passes.

Her hands are shaky as she leaves the store.

"Elena. You look as wonderful as ever," a sarcastic voice says.

"Ugh. Why can't you just let me die, Klaus? Do you want us to suffer?"

"You know why, love, and why are you so hell-bent on sacrificing yourself?" he asks as he steps toward her, calm in the chaotic environment. He smells like smoke and his jacket is more than a little charred.

"What happened to you?"

"A grenade."

"A grena-?"

"What's more important right now is getting you blood."

"I don't want it." she says, moving to head south, away from the sounds of explosives going off. His footsteps next to her sound like Godzilla.

"How many humans are on this little trip with us, Elena?" Klaus asks, easily following as she stumbles along. Elena notices absently that she can see half of his left buttcheek because of a hole burnt in his pants. He doesn't seem to care.

She sighs as she glances around at their surroundings. "I don't know, three?"

"Yes. But I wouldn't go for the angel, their blood always seems to be a bit testy."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that you don't have to kill someone, darling. Three humans and you didn't touch one of them. You proved to me on that beach that your adamance not to kill someone is enough to stop you."

"You don't know what'll happen once I taste blood. I've seen Stefan and-and Damon struggle with-"

"I know much more than you do, love, and I know that you have more strength than you realize." Klaus says as she suddenly ducks behind a parked car. A number of silent androids had appeared and had their eyes set in their direction. Their guns click audibly as they ready themselves for fire.

Klaus smiles and crouches next to her calmly. "And how strange of you to mention Damon, I was just thinking about him."

"Don't."

"I'm afraid you have to be clearer on what you mean-"

"Don't think about him. Don't talk to me about him. Don't even remind me of him. I know what you're trying to do, and if you keep trying, I swear to God, I'll kill myself and your precious dopplegänger blood."

Klaus shrugs. "Fine. So, do you plan on hiding here all day or doing something about those Terminator wannabes?"

"A Terminator reference?"

"It was big when it came out. Not my favorite time period, but nevertheless-"

Elena rolls her eyes and grumbles several annoyed expletives as she lunges for a nearby robot. It isn't her smartest move, but anything is better than having that talk with Klaus.

Klaus raises just one eyebrow, as if raising both would be far too much, and watches while she rips the head off the terminator wannabe. It doesn't come off as easily as it would for a newborn vampire, but the effects of the partial transition give her just enough strength.

She uses the now inanimate robot to shield her from the onslaught of bullets.

"You look like you're having some trouble, maybe I should help!" Klaus calls, smirking, from behind the car.

Elena shoots him a brief, but effective look of 'oh, just shut up', before tearing off her shield's arm and launching it at the closest adversary. The limb knocks it out with a satisfying clunk.

Chuckling to himself, he stands and joins her in the fight. Using his speed, he immediately takes out at least five, which would have been impressive if he hadn't been looking so bored the entire time. Elena is tempted to save her limited energy and just stand back and let Klaus do all the work, until out of the corner of her eye she sees him freeze.

Alarmed, Elena turns to look at him, still keeping her shield held high. He stands directly in the middle of the commotion, eyes wide in shock. Elena's eyes lower to his abdomen where two bullets have pierced his skin.

She quickly hurries over and stands to block him before they can finish reloading. The robots lose no time in drilling them with more ammunition. The shells clink against the asphalt and bullets against their now quite feeble shield.

Hurriedly, Elena appraises Klaus's state. He looks shocked to say the least as he pulls out the bullet.

"What the hell?" she mutters. It's not a regular bullet. The outer layer of metal is peeled back from the impact with Original skin, revealing its wooden heart.

"White oak," Klaus says. "Laced with vervain."

Elena just looks at him for a moment before an unladylike, hysterical giggle pops out of her mouth.

Klaus turns his glare on her. "_You think this is funny_?!"

She laughs harder. "Yes."

"You won't be laughing when it's you or Stefan that gets shot."

"It's just-you were so surprised-" she breaks off, stifling her laughter. "I'm sorry, I just don't get to see that expression on your face very often, and I'd like to appreciate it."

"Don't be obnoxious," Klaus snaps. Out of all the things a depressed girl to laugh about it's his humiliation.

"That's rich. Okay, I have an idea," Elena says after she calms herself. "Are you up for fighting?"

Klaus winces as he picks the second bullet out of his stomach. "As long as I don't get shot in the heart, I'm golden."

"Alright, Ponyboy, you take Robocop here and hold it in front of your heart." she shifts to hand him the shield while still keeping safe cover. Its leg scrapes the pavement as he takes it from her. Her eyes force open behind her sunglasses as she takes a deep breath. She can feel her strength draining. "You take out as many as you can."

"And, pray tell, what will you be doing?"

"Well, I've been eyeing that fire hydrant-see, right there? I'll bust it open. You just distract them and I'll wipe them all out," she says, gesturing to the red hydrant on the side of the road. The shield jerks at the pressure of the continuous fire.

"And how do I know you won't just leave me?"

He takes a quick peek around their human sized shield. There are about twenty left. Elena almost laughs at the ever so slightly insecure look in his eyes.

"What?" she says with a grin. "Don't you trust me?"

* * *

><p>Castiel decides that he trusts Stefan. He has a strong moral compass. That and he'd just saved Castiel's life.<p>

"You okay?" Stefan asks. Cas is on the ground, having just been knocked down by a rather ambitious robot that had come barreling towards him from around a corner.

"Yes, I'm fine." Cas frowns. "I do not find these beings to be particularly insightful."

"Yeah, they're a little dumb."

"We should find the others."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"It shouldn't be that hard."

"I'm vampire and you're an angel. How hard could it be?"

"Actually, my abilities as an angel don't seem to be working right now-"

"Whatever. You know what I mean."

". . ."

* * *

><p>The dead robot twitches as Dean pulls out the broken piece of shrapnel he'd impaled it with. Sam says that he and Rebekah had both woken up in a bunker filled with supplies before they left to look for everyone. They agree to go back and pick up more supplies before they continue their search.<p>

"How'd your neck heal up?" Dean asks Sam as they walk. He can hear Rebekah's boots click as she walks on his other side.

"Rebekah," he says.

"He's no use to me dead," she says offhandedly. There is a short silence before they hear a sound similar to a waterfall. As they walk it starts to get louder.

"What is that sound?" Sam asks.

"There," Dean points across the town square about a football field's distance away. They see a fire hydrant spurting water with bots scampering trying to avoid the stream. Some are hit and blown out of the way instantly.

"Niklaus!" Rebekah shouts, blue eyes wide. She zooms toward the scene.

"I don't think I want to follow her," Dean says. "That guy's a lunatic."

"Maybe I do want to follow her," Sam says with a frown. "So I can kill him."

"Sammy-" Dean starts.

"Look, there's Elena!" he points and rushes after the blonde, brown hair flapping.

Dean rolls his eyes and grumbles, "Yes, Sam, run towards two people that can potentially kill you." And he runs after him.

When he arrives at the scene, the water has already stopped and there are no animate robots in sight. Standing in the middle of the street are a soaked Klaus and Elena, Klaus clutching a mangled robot carcass and Elena bleeding from the bridge of her nose.

Rebekah bounds to her brother and embraces him. "Are you okay-are you shot? Is this your blood?" she pulls at his damp shirt where two splotches of blood are. The dead robot clatters to the ground.

"Yes, I'm fine, Rebekah." he says. His blonde hair is plastered to his forehead.

"Elena, are you alright?" Sam asks. Dean immediately stiffens as he eyes the girl, ready to yank his brother back. She looks strangely pathetic, wet, and hungry, but Dean still holds on to that long piece of shrapnel just in case.

Elena holds a hand up, signaling Sam not to approach. "I'm fine, just-" she winces at Dean. "Just both of you keep your distance please." She tugs at her wet blouse, unsticking it from her skin and shivering slightly.

"We were just headed back to a bunker," Rebekah says. "We can stay there for the night."

Dean looks up. The sky is darkening quickly. He looks between Elena and Klaus again. They both appear to have no interest in attacking Sam, or him for that matter, so he relaxes only slightly.

Sam takes the lead onward to the bunker while Klaus and Rebekah huddle together, Rebekah fretting over him and his injuries.

This leaves Dean in the back trailing behind Elena. He keeps a five foot distance.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Dean." she says conversationally. She glances back at him with a small smile. Her arms are wrapped around herself.

He just nods as amiably as he can. She doesn't leave him to his silence.

"So what were you up to before you got dumped here?" she asks, though still keeping a healthy amount of space between them.

"Hunting. The usual," Dean says.

"What was it this time?"

He hesitates. "A vampire. A nest actually."

"And are these vampires like Stefan and Klaus and Rebekah?"

"No, they don't have as much trouble in the sun and they die just by getting their heads chopped off."

"I wonder why they're different."

"It's pretty common for different species to have a number of breeds."

"It's always more complicated than it needs to be, isn't it?" she shakes her head slightly, her thick locks swaying and dripping water. There is a short silence.

"So . . .how did you meet Stefan?" Dean asks, suddenly unsure of how to act around her. He doesn't know if he should get to know her or just mind his own business_. It's because I don't even know if I want to let her die yet_.

She breathes a soft laugh. "It was in a graveyard. I was there visiting and he just appeared. Out of nowhere." She scoffs. "You'd think I would've scared away by then but it seems like I'm visiting the graveyard more and more these days."

They look ahead of them. Klaus and Rebekah seem much more relaxed now. Meanwhile, Sam seems to have maintained a laser focus as he leads them down a smaller street.

"It's weird," Dean says slowly, feeling uneasy at sharing his emotions, but he sees something familiar in her. "Death feels so personal when it happens to someone close to you." He glances at Elena. She's listening intently. "Sometimes you forget that it hits other people too. Sometimes just as hard."

"We're here," Sam says as they walk down a narrow alley. Sam pushes at a door and it groans open.

"Finally," Rebekah says. "Time to sleep."

* * *

><p>Rebekah wakes up four hours later to Stefan's voice yelling something through the front door.<p>

"Guys open up! Please!" his muffled voice says. "He's on fire!"

Rebekah climbs out of her bunk she'd been sharing with Niklaus, who is now snoring, and wrenches the thick door open.

"What the bloody hell happened to you two?"

Cas really is on fire. He's doing a strange 'get off of me, fire!' dance as the flames lick his trenchcoat. It sort of resembles a jig. Or perhaps a sort of cha cha. Meanwhile, Stefan darts into the bunker, which he does with ease because apparently nobody owns it, and snatches a bottle of water from the pantry shelf. Within seconds, Cas is dampened with a goofy grin on his face.

"It's nice too see you again, Rebekah."

* * *

><p>"She'll be dead soon," Elena hears Stefan say. She keeps her eyes closed.<p>

"What do you suggest?" she hears a deeper voice ask. It's Castiel. He and Stefan must've arrived during the night.

"We honor her decision," Stefan says, though he sounds hesitant.

"Why now, of all times, do you decide that you should listen to her?" Klaus asks.

"This is a big choice-"

"Hey, did anyone hear what Gabriel whispered to her on the beach?" Sam says suddenly. His voice is slightly closer.

"He said something in a language I didn't recognize," Stefan says. "Were you two listening?" Elena guesses that this question is directed at Klaus and Rebekah.

"It was Bulgarian." Klaus replies. "He said, 'someday, maybe someday."

"That's it?" Stefan asks.

"How comforting," it's Dean's voice, coming directly from Elena's left. He must've fallen asleep next to her. She remembers him sitting on her bed, which is closest to the door, offering to keep watch for the night. She's guessing he didn't last very long.

As if he too had just realized Dean's position, Sam asks, "You were next to her all night and she didn't sneak a bite?"

"Guess not," he says. "I can't believe I fell asleep."

Elena feels him shift and the bed creaks as he sits up. Then there is the warmth of his breath on her face as Dean climbs over her and out of their bunk.

He stands and clears his throat loudly. "So do we have a plan?"

"I say we stay in here. We got everything we need and there's a chance someone's getting killed if we go out." Stefan says.

"Maybe that's the point," Sam says with a sigh.

"No, we already established that isn't why we're here," Dean says. "Gabriel hasn't killed any one of us yet."

Elena opens her eyes slightly. He is standing in the middle of the tight bunker with his arms crossed. His short hair is sticking up and his green eyes look bright and rested. The others are sitting around, some in chairs, others in bunks. She sees Stefan with his face in his hands.

"Then why did he make such a big deal about me healing her while she was dying?" he asks. She wants to comfort him.

"Who knows, he's a sociopath," Rebekah says irritably.

"Someday, maybe someday, you'll live," Elena says.

They turn to look at her, lying still on the bed. Her eyes are completely open now.

"What?" Dean asks.

"That's what he said to me," Elena says, sitting up. "'Someday, maybe someday, you'll live.'"

There is a long silence. Dean is the first to break it. "Now that's just confusing."

"Are you okay?" Stefan quickly moves to sit next to her.

She smiles a small smile. "I'm fine, just-"

"Hungry," Dean finishes. Elena can't tell what he's thinking as his eyebrows lower. There is a long pause as they size each other up, both wondering why he fell asleep next to her and how she didn't kill him. Elena tries not to think about the fact that Klaus may be right about her after all. But she can't help but hope that he is. Maybe she doesn't have to die. A tiny flutter lightens her heavy heart. She wonders about Dean. And she wonders if he's wondering about her. Sam looks about ready to intervene-

BOOM.

Dean's eyes swing away from Elena's and lock onto the doorway, their only representation of the outside world.

"What the hell?" Sam yelps as the entire bunker quakes. Cans of non-perishable food topple to the ground. The smell of smoke pollutes the air.

A loud pounding starts against the door. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Dean snatches a gun from the rack hanging against the wall, pointing it at the entrance. Everyone scrambles to do the same.

Soon the pounding increases, now surrounding them, shaking the walls.

Klaus and Rebekah stand behind with their backs against the one stable wall in the back because they're actually worried about the damned white oak, while the rest of them form a sort of clump together with Sam, Dean, and Elena in the front and Stefan and Cas taking up the sides.

Elena feels Dean hesitate next to her.

"Can you handle that gun?" he asks gruffly.

Elena is a bit offended. "What? Of course I can ha-"

He stops and turns to her as the walls look about to crumble. On Dean's other side, Sam clicks off the safety on his gun.

"I barely know you, okay? I need to be able to trust you," Dean shouts over the impending wreckage. "I can't have you accidentally shooting me in the ass while I'm trying to save all of us-"

"You can trust me," she says, rolling her eyes and giving him a playful smile that's almost inappropriate for the current circumstances. She supposes that she's learned to laugh off the nerves during times like these. Near death experiences and all that. "Maybe it's you we need to worry about." A challenge sparks behind her brown eyes as she twirls the old school revolver she'd picked up.

Dean scoffs. "I'll be fine. In fact, I'm probably the damn MVP of this entire group."

"Really? I think I've killed more robots than you have. Maybe I'm the MVP." Elena says.

Dean looks incredulous. "Oh, please-"

"HONESTLY, GUYS, NOW ISN'T THE TIME!" Sam snaps just as the wall collapses, landing directly onto Stefan with a crunch.


	5. Chapter 5: SickDyingDead

The sound of Stefan screaming is a grotesque, horrible sound that hits Dean's spine like a gong. The chills run deeper as Elena cries out, running to him. It is an awful, despairing scream. She can't lose him. Not today, Dean hears her voice repeatedly. Klaus is protecting Rebekah from incoming gunfire while Sam and Cas shoot back, bullets ricocheting everywhere. Stefan goes silent.

The vampire's skull is trapped under the concrete. All Dean can see is his mess of brown hair peeking out from underneath. His Pattinson hair.

He's about to help Elena get him out somehow when the second wall gives. So much for their safe bunker.

"Did you really think you could hide?" came Gabriel's sleazy voice.

They all look up.

Gabriel stands behind the now collapsed wall, as bright as day with that damn smirk on his face. If it gets any bigger he'd be eating his own face. He looks utterly unphased by the dozens of androids on either side of him that continue firing, giving no heed to where or at whom.

Dean grunts as a bullet imbeds itself deep into his left calf with a squelch. He drops to his knees and clamps a hand over it, at the same time ducking from fire. Warm blood seeps between his fingers.

"You are an asshole," Klaus says with a quiet vehemence burning in his throat. Dean notices that Rebekah has fallen on her stomach, four bullets in her back.

"That's saying something coming from you," Gabriel says, not offended in the least. His eyes land on Dean. "You might wanna watch out, dude."

"What?" Dean turns to see Elena staring at his leg with black eyes.

He really did not need this right now.

"Mmm," he sees Gabriel shake his head. "What to do?" Dean hears Elena growl in annoyance.

"Why are we here, Gabriel?" Cas demands. His beige trenchcoat is tattered with holes.

"For fun, of course."

"Try again."

"For amusement then."

"GABRIEL, I SWEAR TO-"

"Dad?"

"What is the point of all this?" Sam pleads, his jaw clenched tight. "What is it that you're trying to accomplish?"

Gabriel raises a hand, immediately stopping the gunfire. There is a creak as the metallic arms drop and then silence.

"You guys are no fun sometimes," he says, rolling his eyes, "You're serving time here in limbo. And it's not because of that myth about death that you all assumed it wa-"

Elena stands up and runs through the opening where the wall was and hunches over on the side of the road, her back heaving from her shallow breaths. Dean hears a retching sound as vomit splats against the sidewalk.

"You're not doing a very good job at not tempting her," Gabriel says, eying Dean's leg.

"Who's fault is that?" Dean grumbles.

"I'm only doing my job."

"Why did you kill her?"

"It was for the best."

"For who? You?"

"Look, Dean," Gabriel says, "There's a bigger picture here that you're just too small to see."

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd share it with the rest of us," Dean says. He clutches his leg tighter when, in the corner of his eye, he sees Elena warily walk back towards them. She crouches down next to Stefan's unseen body. She angles her body away from Dean.

Gabriel smiles. "Limbo, Dean. Limbo. That's all you need to know."

"We're being punished?"

"Mhmm." Gabriel says impatiently.

"Wha-?"

"Come on Stefan, you can do it," Elena grunts, interrupting them, pulling feebly at the chunk of wall atop her friend's body. "Please, Stefan. . ."

"Elena," Cas says gently. "I don't think he-"

"He can't die. He can't."

Dean watches sadly as the girl continues shoving at the wall. Her skin is incredibly pale at this point, her eyes glazed and struggling to focus.

"Gabriel, just tell us what we need to do," Elena says desperately. "You told me I had a chance at life. Please. . ."

"Listen to me, all of you. Well, all of you that can," he laughs slightly at the two fallen vampires. "I will say it just one more time: All you have to do is pass through limbo until you've paid for your wrongdoing."

"How will we know when we have?" Sam asks.

"You'll know. Trust me."

"Then I suppose I'm trapped here forever," Klaus says darkly. "No amount of time can pay my debt."

"Another thing you'll need to learn," Gabriel says. "Each of you are in here as a consequence of just one act. You'd best figure out what it is. So while I wait for that, I'll just continue to have my fun." And with that he's gone.

Dean feels ready to turn over a table in frustration or something dramatic like that.

"Your leg," Sam says. "We need to find something for that."

"I don't see anything," Klaus says distractedly. He's busy pulling the bullet shards out of his sister. It'll take a while.

"You're not even looking!" Sam exclaims, although Klaus is right. All their medical supplies had either been exploded or shot to pieces.

"Perhaps Sam and I can take you to the nearest hospital. I saw one just a couple blocks down," Cas suggests, eyeing him worriedly.

"No. You two stay here and take care of him," he gestures to Stefan. "We might be able to save him if we're quick. He is a vampire after all."

"But what about you, Dean?" Sam asks angrily. "We can't just-"

"I'll take care of it myself," Dean insists.

"I'll go with him." Elena says, standing, keeping her eyes away from Stefan. Her black funeral attire suddenly looks so much more tragic.

Dean says, staggering back to his feet, "Look, no offense, but I don't see how you'd be any help-"

"My dad was a doctor," she says irritably. "And going alone would just be stupid."

"So is going alone with a starving vampire."

"I'm not going to be any help here," Elena says. "I can't stay."

Dean sighs as Sam and Cas pass each other questioning looks.

"Fine. Just. . . stay at a safe distance." he says tiredly and begins limping in the direction that Cas had gestured towards earlier.

Elena falls into step several feet behind him, minding his personal space. As they get farther and farther away from the others, they hear the faint clinking of the bullets Klaus pulls from Rebekah's back and the simultaneous grunts of Sam and Cas as they attempt to free Stefan.

They'd been walking not ten minutes when Dean's noises of bodily protest start to become intolerable.

The wince on his face only becomes more apparent as Elena approaches him with a wholly determined look on her face.

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Dean raises a hand, blocking her advance. "If you can't resist then head back."

Elena scoffs and pushes his arm aside. "I'm not trying to eat you."

Before he can fight her off, she wraps one of his arms over her shoulder and supports his weight. His hand involuntarily grips onto her shoulder as they press together. He frowns.

"Er, thank you." he feels her hair swipe the side of his stubbled face.

"Yeah," she gives him a small smile. He can tell that she's trying not to inhale. "It's best to get the weight off that leg."

"You handle a lot of gunshot wounds?"

"I've had a bullet to the arm once," she says breezily.

"How _old_ are you?"

"Twenty," she looks taken aback by the question. "Why?"

"Just asking," he says quietly.

"What about you?"

"How old am I?"

She shakes her head, "Most people in your position would go into shock."

"I've had plenty of experience with guns, if that's what you're asking."

"It is." she looks at him expectantly, her once bloodthirsty, black eyes are now a warm brown.

"What?"

"You can't just say 'I've had plenty of experience with guns' and not elaborate."

Dean chuckles, "My dad was a hunter. A supernatural hunter. He taught me most of it."

"Did you want to follow in his footsteps? I mean, if if you weren't hunting what would you be?"

Dean shakes his head, unintentionally taking a deep breath of her. She smells both sweaty and fresh at the same time. "Maybe Batman. But no, I've never seriously thought about it, and I can't now. It's too late."

He expects her to say something like, 'It's never too late,' or 'you could do whatever you want if you really wanted to,' but instead she just angles her head towards him, a sad glint in her eyes before her face brightens.

"Oh, well. . .you would've made a shitty Batman anyway." she smiles crookedly at him before she starts laughing, a couple of snorts weaseling their way into his heart.

"How could you say that? I'd be a damn good Batman, what with his gadgets and the cape- oh the cape! Goddamn, I loved that cape." He grins as she continues laughing contagiously, shaking both of their bodies.

"I guess." she says, expression still bright. "I just have a little trouble seeing you, I don't know, not wielding a gun or holy water or some sort of condiment." Elena snorts again, giggling. He thinks it's sort of cute.

He stares at her as they limp on. "How in the world did a girl like you end up here?"

Her eyes look ahead of them. "Bad blood, I guess."

"Your family?"

"Well, yes. It's complicated." she shifts her arm snugly against his back. "Long story short, the parents and foster parents and ancestors were all involved in this supernatural thing way before I was conceived."

"You didn't have a choice."

She shrugs. "We all have a choice, really. I just happened to fall in love with the worst one."

"What about now? What would you choose?" Dean asks, knowing full well that it's an impossible question.

There is a deep pause, "Most of my family and friends are dead," she glances at him briefly before turning back to the road in front of them. "What do you think?"

He nods. He knows.

Dean flinches as he lands badly on a step.

"Careful," Elena says.

"It's okay, I just-"

"You didn't wrap it?!"

"Well it didn't look that bad-"

She lets go of him with a both firm and gentle hand, then tears the sleeve off of that dreadfully depressing funeral blouse. Quickly, she ties the scrap tightly around the wound.

"I feel like a damn baby," Dean mumbles as she secures the knot. "The clinic is just around the corner!"

"It's no wonder I could smell you so strongly," she mumbles in annoyance. "How are you not passed out right now?"

"Let's just say I have the strength of an ox."

"What are you, suicidal?"

"I told you, it wasn't that ba-"

A mechanical whirring silences them both.

"There's more coming. A lot." Elena says after the pause.

"Did you bring a gun?"

"Of course I brought a gun, what do you think I-"

"Good." he says, standing. She gets to her feet too. "I guess now's the time to prove yourself."

"I don't need your approval."

"You know what I mean!" He looks her straight in the eyes. "I need to be able to trust you, Elena. And that's not something I do often."

She stares back at him, then nods. "Don't worry, Dean. I'll earn it." She pulls out both of her revolvers.

Dean takes out his hefty automatic and limps towards the clinic with Elena not far behind. He can still smell her on him.

They reach a building with a red cross stamped on the sign in front, advertising a happy and healthy family. You can tell they're happy because they're smiling.

They hasten into the emergency room where Elena grabs iodine, gauze, and antibiotic, and tosses them to Dean. He catches them and hoists himself up onto the patient's bed. The marching sounds get steadily louder.

"Hold on," she says, then rifles through some more drawers. After several seconds she pulls out a needle and thread.

Dean sees that her eyes are wide as she closes in on his leg.

"Wait, let me put on some gloves-" she starts to turn when Dean catches her arm.

"Don't," he says, his eyes are on the open window, where the robots are approaching. "Just hurry."

She swallows, then nods curtly, snatching the bottle of iodine and swinging a nearby lamp to light both of them.

It's then that Dean notices how tired she looks. Her face is drawn and even more pale as her surprisingly steady hands grab hold of his leg. Her eyes are dark.

"This'll hurt," she smiles apologetically. He braces himself.

She quickly splashes the iodine onto his wound, keeping one hand holding it still as he jerks slightly. Then, she rapidly pushes and pulls the needle back and forth as Dean curses through gritted teeth. When it's done she wraps it with gauze.

"Thank you," Dean says genuinely. "Now grab some of those medical supplies to bring back. I'll cover you."

Elena hurries to the back room and he follows.

He watches all entrances like a ninja until he gets momentarily distracted by Elena crawling through the supply closet. Her black skirt is just a little short. Damn that skirt. Damn it straight to-

Then the clinic door slams open, and in the doorway are about seven androids, looking as warm and sweet as ever.

Dean points the gun directly at the first one's rigid face and squeezes the trigger, sending dozens of bullets into its armor. He is faring quite well until more robots start to file in.

He senses the gun is nearing its empty point as shells clatter to the ground and more keep coming.

"Son of a bitch," the gun sits uselessly in his hands when the nearest android swings its gun in Dean's direction.

He's looking straight into the barrel when it's suddenly blown away, shrapnel flying everywhere. The next thing he sees is about three robots blasted to the ground. And there's Elena standing with guns poised.

Blinking from Elena to the oncoming robots, Dean's eyebrows shoot upward. Her guns are raised, flinching every time she fires, a plastic first aid kit hanging like a purse on one shoulder. She nails them directly in the head every time.

Recovering from the minor surprise, Dean takes his gun and swings it like a club, aiming for their heads, same as Elena. He knocks one head off and it flies, clattering into a wall.

"Were you into tee ball?" Elena asks over the sound of gunfire and smashing metal.

"Never played it," Dean says as he continues throttling a particularly stubborn robot.

"It's a kid's game. You would've been good."

Elena runs out of ammunition and follows Dean's lead, using each pistol as extra muscle. She smashes one right in the nose, knocking it's head clear off of it's shoulders.

"Damn, girl, you've been holding out," Dean says, looking impressed. "What about you? Boxing?"

"Just the basics," she drops her guns and yanks an arm off of one of the bots and uses it as a bat.

"Maybe when we're outta here I'll show you a thing or two," Dean says, kneeing one in the abdomen, leaving a deep dent. Soon the entire hospital floor is covered with bodies.

"Dean Winchester," an inhuman voice says.

Dean turns to see the very last robot staring at him.

"Is it talking?" Elena asks, moving to stand next to him. They both stare expectantly at the robot, which holds no weapon.

"Dean Winchester," a light blinks just above its 'eyes'. "You know what you did."

Dean frowns. "What-?"

"Dean Winchester, you know what you did."

"What do you want?" Elena asks.

"This messenger will self destruct in 3,2,1-"

Dean and Elena barely have time to leap out of the way before the Messenger explodes, a massive heat enveloping the entire room.

Dean tries to block Elena from the explosion, but she instead pushes him so that they are both hunched in the corner with Elena covering him. Dean feels the scorching heat surround him and Elena, and tries to pull her farther into the corner. She screams as her back is burned.

The room is on fire.

Elena is barely conscious.

Dean recovers first, blinking as colored spots where the bright lights had flashed float in his vision.

"Elena?" he looks down as she lies on the ground. "Oh, God-"

The burns are bad.

Her hair is so singed that Dean can see a spot of her scalp. Patches of her skin are dark and blistered. Her breathing is in shallow wheezes.

"Dean, you have to leave me," Elena says then.

"What? Why? I'll just carry you, come here," Dean says, reaching for her.

She takes hold of his hands, stilling them. "I'm going to die, Dean."

"I'll take you back to the others, they can heal you-"

"And then what? I'll continue to starve myself of blood until I die?" Elena asks. Dean stares at her pained face and he knows. He knows that Stefan was right about her. She has a stunningly clear perception of life and what needs to be done, and sacrificing herself is not something she ever overlooks.

"You don't deserve to die," he says.

"You don't know me well enough to say that-"

"Why won't you fight for your life, Elena?" Dean demands, injustice suddenly stabbing him in the stomach. He would have gripped her shoulders and shook her if they weren't so burned. "What happened to you? You're young and beautiful and smart and talented. Don't waste that! I've lived through too much shit that I shouldn't have and I know what you're feeling, but you can't just give up."

"I won't be a vampire, Dean. I've seen what it's like, how bad it can be-I don't want that. I'll be fighting myself not to to hurt people, and it'll be torture. That's forever."

"You haven't hurt me," Dean points out. "You're strong."

"What are you sayi-?"

Dean's hands are bloody from holding his bullet wound and from scraping it across the floor as he and Elena skidded across it just moments before. And he knows it. He feels the moisture as his fingers slide against each other.

He pulls his hands out of her's and holds them in front of her face.

"Here."

"No."

"I'm giving it to you, Elena, take it!"

"I could kill you-"

"You could have killed me anytime for the past however many days we've been here. You didn't kill Sam. You saved me from that explosion. I trust you, okay? I trust you. You've earned it and more."

"Dean, no-"

He puts a large hand against her mouth that she clamps shut. Her hands reach out to push him away, but he doesn't budge. Then she stills and her eyes grow wide. The blood enters her mouth.

Dean feels the warmth of her breath and a scrape of teeth just before he sees her eyes turn black.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Thoughts? I would love some!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Chain

**Note: Supernatural/ Vampire Diaries/ The Originals = Not my property**

* * *

><p>"One. . .two. . . THREE!" Sam grunts. Castiel and Klaus lift along with him, one of them having to work a bit harder than the other.<p>

Stefan can breathe again.

He wheezes in and out.

_Well, that's a new one, _he thinks with an airy chuckle. _I've never died that way before._

"There," Klaus says. "Let's drop it over there." He easily carries it in one direction while the other two scramble to follow. Stefan hears Sam mutter some expletives.

"I can hear you," Klaus says as they set down the large chunk of stone wall. Sam wipes at his glistening brow and Cas pouts to himself, probably mourning his lost powers yet again.

"Yeah, well, I don't give a rat's ass," Sam says.

When Stefan finally feels a cool breeze on his face he tries to sit up.

"Whoa," Sam says to him. "You might want to take it easy."

Stefan looks up at Sam and sees a horrified expression. He braces himself, expecting the worst. _I must look like-_

"He looks like Frankenstein," he hears a voice say from behind him.

He turns to find the elder Winchester staring at him with a mixture of caution and concern. He's favoring one leg. Probably because he'd refused vampire blood to heal himself. Stefan had learned by now to stop offering. Dean has always been disgusted by the entire process.

"Dean," Stefan says, ignoring their rather overdramatic expressions of alarm. He looks Dean up and down. "Are you hurt?" He looks as if Jackson Pollack had used him as a canvas. Except he had only red paint. Holes decorate his clothing and black colors portions of his skin. He's standing near the ruins of where the bunker had once stood, looking restless and distant.

"No, I'm fine," Dean replies skittishly. His eyes dart about, not quite looking Stefan in the eye. There's blood on his hands.

"What about Rebekah?" Stefan asks, glancing around.

"She's okay, I got the bullets out of her," Klaus says with an uncharacteristic grimace on his face. "Aw, mate, you really do look awful."

Deciding that he'd better suck it up, Stefan takes a deep breath and looks around. It doesn't take long for him to find what he's looking for. His eyes catch the reflective surface of a window of a nearby building and he stares. He feels his stomach tighten. An unintelligible noise escapes his throat.

All he recognizes are his eyes.

Everything else is deformed so monstrously that he wants to hurl.

"I-It's okay, it'll heal, right?" he asks Klaus. "Everything heals, so why wouldn't this?"

Stefan isn't vain. But there's something about seeing his face-the one that's caused so much trouble- turn into something unrecognizable.

"Of course it will heal," Klaus says.

Relieved and determined to change the subject, he looks to the Winchesters and asks, "Where's Elena?"

The two look at each other nervously. Dean looks shameful.

Stefan tries again, this time more sharply, "_Where's Elena?"_

Sam clears his throat, "She's with Rebekah."

"She's with Rebekah?"

"Yes."

"But Rebekah hates Elena," Stefan says, to which Sam only shrugs. Dean continues to avoid his gaze. Frustrated after looking from the two brothers to Klaus suspiciously, Stefan turns to Cas, who'd been silently brooding throughout their conversation. "Where's Elena, Cas?"

Cas blinks.

"With Rebekah," he says simply.

Stefan frowns, "Why?"

". . ."

Stefan rolls his eyes, "I'm just going to look for her, then."

Sam extends his hand to stop him, but Dean shakes his head. "Let him go."

* * *

><p>Stefan sees Rebekah first.<p>

She's standing over Elena, who's crouching on the ground next to an ice cream shop. He remains hidden inside the neighboring building. It's a laundromat.

"Give yourself more credit, Elena, you didn't kill him," he hears Rebekah say. Her blonde hair rides the wind.

"He probably regrets it already," Elena says softly. "God, he probably hates me."

"That's just your amplified insecurity talking."

"I almost-I almost-"

"You didn't," Rebekah snaps. "Now stop snivelling over things you could have done. You're lucky you didn't. The rest of us don't have the luxury of being clean like you."

"But he _does_ hate me," Elena says, standing. Stefan can see her face now. It's bright and energized with an anxious frown. "I can just feel it-"

Rebekah snorts. "I don't think that's hatred you're feeling, darling."

Stefan is still staring at Elena. She looks. . . different. But she can't be. Can she? No. No. No. How long had he been under that wall? What happened? Why is she-?

"If we weren't all stuck together he would want to kill me to protect Sam. Hell, he would kill Klaus if he could."

"Everyone would kill Klaus if they could," Rebekah says. "Look, the point is, you have a chance at life. Take it. Don't dwell on what happened in your old life, it'll only depress you."

Elena just looks down at her tattered black clothes.

Rebekah sighs. "Elena, Dean saved your life. If he regretted it, he would've stabbed you already."

"He's too good to do that."

Stefan steps out from inside the laundromat, eyes set on the brunette. Her eyes are still warm. It doesn't take them long to notice him.

"Oh my God, Stefan!" Elena cries, leaping onto him. Rebekah has just a phantom of a smile on her face.

"Finally," she says. "She's your responsibility now." She leaves them.

"They're trying to make sure I keep my humanity on." Elena explains, taking his face in her hands with a shaky laugh. "Your face. . ." she smiles widely. "At least your eyes are the same."

"What happened to you?" he asks. "You're-"

"I guess I want to live," she says. "And I'm not the only one who does."

Stefan feels something wet on his cheek. It's one of his tears.

"Why are you sad?" Elena asks.

"I'm not. I-" he closes his eyes and a broad smile rearranges his already crumpled face. "I'm happy. I'm happy that you haven't left me. You're all I have left."

"You're all _I_ have left," Elena says with a chuckle. "So try not to die, maybe?"

"Well, now we're both dead."

"You know what I mean."

"I do."

"And we both know that vampires can die. Both of us more than anyone."

They stare at each other for a moment before Stefan says, "You know, if you ever want to talk about what happened with Da-"

"We already had this conversation, Stefan, we don't need to repeat it."

"I loved him too, Elena." His old, familiar eyes hold her. His face is so very slowly changing back to normal. "_I_ _loved him too._"

Her eyes strain to remain light, "I know. Neither of us should have but we did."

Stefan sighs. His eyes raise to look at the top of her head. There's a small bald patch above her ear.

"What happened to your hair?"

Her fingers brush where the absent hair once was self-consciously. "An explosion."

"Oh, okay. As long as it's nothing serious."

Elena giggles.

There is a pregnant pause in which they simply enjoy each other's companionship. The long history that stretches between them is like a chain. No matter how far apart they are they are together.

Stefan knows that another chain holds Elena. Its reach extends somewhere that she can't follow, but it's a chain that she'll never want to break. And that's what Stefan is afraid of.

When Stefan and Elena return to the group, they find themselves walking in on a heated debate.

"Then what the hell are you suggesting?!" they hear Klaus shout. His outrage seems to be directed at Castiel, who stares back at him icily with his wide blue eyes. "That this limbo means to contain me until I feel remorse? Because that's idiotic- "

"It's not until you feel remorse, it's until you receive atonement." Cas says in his matter-of-fact tone that he seems to take on whenever verbally attacked.

"Well, that's just bloody fantastic!" Klaus snaps. "I'll just find all of the people I've wronged and demand forgiveness. If only any of them were alive!"

Dean rolls his eyes, "Whose fault is that, assho-?"

"Guys, Gabriel said that we need to find out what crime we're here for, first. Then we'll know how exactly to 'pay our debt' so to speak," Sam says.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Rebekah asks. "Unless I'm mistaken, none of us here are innocent."

"We have to admit what we're most ashamed of," Stefan says. "It has to be something worth this kind of punishment." Suddenly the group falls silent. He watches each one of their faces, all now unnerved by the prospect of addressing their demons.

Stefan sees Dean's eyes land on Elena for no apparent reason and he instantly feels exactly what she and Rebekah were talking about earlier. And when Elena lifts her eyes to meet Dean's there's almost a tangible tightness in the air. Anyone who pays attention will feel uncomfortable just witnessing their tense exchange. Something is burning behind their eyes. Is it hate like Elena had suggested? Or is it something else?

_Oh no_, Stefan thinks. _Why must it always be the ones that have the highest possibility of dying on her?_

* * *

><p>"I'm here because I killed my family."<p>

Dean turns to look at Elena as she says these words. They're sitting on the side of the street just outside of an empty grocery store while the rest of the group is inside, scavenging for food. Still, Dean sits several feet away from her. He doesn't know if he'd ruined her life or if he'd saved it.

But for some reason he can't bring himself to care. She's alive. She's sitting next to him-talking to him. And it makes him happy. Happy like a damn ten year old boy. And at the same time he knows that death is closer to both of them than most. Just trying to make a friend is futile let alone making. . . whatever the hell it is he and Elena have.

He vaguely recalls having to choose between getting to know her and leaving her alone.

He hasn't felt this confused since before high school.

Elena, a girl ten years younger than him with a target on her back, and him with baggage heavier than the earth's mass. Whose brilliant idea was that?

"You killed your family?" Dean asks disbelievingly.

"I'm the reason they're dead," she says. She looks him in the eyes and he immediately looks away.

He shakes his head. "That's not the same thing."

"Well, what about you? Any idea why you're here?"

Dean looks somewhere far away, "No."

"That robot said 'you know what you did'," Elena says gently. "What did it mean by that?"

"Hell if I know." Dean sighs. "Look, Elena, you don't want to hear me whine about how sad my life is, okay?"

"But you want to get out of here, don't you?"

"There's too many dead at my feet, Elena," He says. "Only in my case it really is at my hands. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing you can do. I can't be forgiven."

Elena purses her lips but doesn't press him. Instead she says, "I've lost three sets of parents, you know." Her voice is wary, like she's worried he'll judge her. When he raises an eyebrow expectantly she continues, "My foster parents who adopted me, Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, both died when our car ran off a bridge, they died because Stefan had only enough time to save one of us and he saved me. My biological father, John Gilbert, died sacrificing himself for me. My mother, Isobel Flemming, was a vampire. She burned to death. My aunt, Jenna Sommers, was killed in a ritual by Klaus because of her association with me. Alaric Saltzman, my last guardian, died because I told him to stay and take care of me and my brother. He died, Dean. He's dead because I was too scared to be alone. Should I go on?"

Shocked, Dean stutters, "No, I-"

"Did Stefan tell you we were at a funeral before we got here? Four friends buried in one day." Between words Dean sees a stiff frown on her lips, forcing herself not to cry. "My little brother, Jeremy, died. He was good. He died sacrificing himself. My oldest friend, Matt, the one that everyone loves, died drowning with me because we drove off a bridge. I'm the only one that survived. My best friend Bonnie died performing a spell trying to save us and now she's stuck on the other side with no way out. Stefan's brother, Damon, is stuck there with her. I thought that I was going to spend the rest of my life with him-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Dean asks, torn between being incredibly depressed at her loss or feeling angry at the aggression with which she's throwing these facts in his face.

"I'm telling you this because you _saw_ me," Elena moves to crouch in front of him and she takes his hands. "You thought that there was something in me worth saving when you barely knew who I was. You took my hands just like this and you believed in me when I was ready to die, Dean. Damned if I don't do the same."

"You don't need to feel obligated to save me, Elena. I can take care of myself," He says gruffly. "It's not your job to forgive me."

"No, it's yours," she says. "You can talk to me."

Then a drop of rain hits his face. He brings his eyes upward and sees dark spots litter the sky. Black rain.

"What-?"

"It's warm," Elena says incredulously.

And within seconds, the drizzle matures into a storm, with screaming thunder and blinding lightning. Water pours down on them, unrelenting.

"Tell them to hurry," Dean grumbles, nodding towards the grocery. He's already drenched, his clothes weighing down on him.

Elena looks at him gravely for a moment before sighing and getting to her feet. Dean glances up at her, his gaze getting caught on the bald patch above her ear. The black rain streaks down her face, creating vertical stripes.

As she turns towards the building, Dean opens his mouth to say something. He doesn't even know what he plans to say, he just wants to fix that damn look on her face. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damnit.

But then a loud rumbling erupts from the sky. It isn't thunder. Both of them crane their heads, immediately spotting the source.

It's a plane. A fighter plane, swooping a little too low towards the city.

"What now?" Dean says, standing.

There is a pause as they watch it, flying threateningly over them.

Dean squints through the pouring water, barely seeing anything. He's about to curse the rain when he feels Elena stiffen beside him.

"What? What do you see?" he demands.

"It's dropping something. . ."

"Well, what is it-?"

Then her eyes widen and she gasps sharply, pushing at him deperately to move, "Oh, God, Dean, run! Run! Go, get out of-"

"What-?"

"FIREBOMB!"

There is no time to react when the first bomb hits.

It's about a block away from them and smoke is everywhere. The ground shakes under Dean's feet and all he can think about is Sam. He bolts toward the grocery, Elena not far behind, shouting Stefan's name.

They burst into the store and find the rest of the group staring out the window in fear. They'd abandoned all attempts at getting supplies.

"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asks, running to meet them.

BOOM. Another one hits. It sounds much closer.

"They're firebombing us," Dean says breathlessly.

"What do we do?" Castiel asks. Klaus actually looks worried and Rebekah and Stefan are still at the window.

"I-I don't know," Dean says. And he's struck by a feeling of remorse. He wishes that time could reverse just a few moments. Just so he could let Elena say what she was going to say. So that she could tell him that he is worth something. That she believes he's worth forgiving.

But the moment is gone.

And they're about to explode.

* * *

><p>Fire.<p>

Fire everywhere.

Elena frantically peers through the orange and red heat. She can't find anyone.

"Stefan!" She shouts hoarsely. "DEAN! SAM!"

"Elena!" It's Rebekah.

She emerges from the flame, eyes wide with fear. In her hand is Castiel's. He is clutching onto her with one hand while another keeps him from inhaling the bitter smoke. His blue eyes shine.

"Have you seen Niklaus?" Rebekah asks desperately.

"No, I haven't seen anyone but you two," Elena says. The building's coming down, crumbling into mounds of uselessness.

The ground shakes again as another bomb lands.

The last thing Elena sees is Castiel and Rebekah embracing each other. Their arms holding tight.

Then there is a mighty heat and everything is gone.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Wake up!"<p>

Klaus's eyes open.

He can still feel himself burning as cool air hits his skin. The fire is gone. The burns are gone.

He's lying on a stone floor.

Looking up at the source of the rude voice, he sees an irritable looking man peering down at him.

There are vertical metal bars between them.

"Welcome to prison, Michaelson." The guard says. He doesn't sound welcoming.

Klaus stands and immediately charges the cell bars.

"AARRRGGH!" he screams as the metal burns his skin. "YOU SON OF A-"

"Niklaus, stop."

He turns and sees Rebekah staring at him with a relieved but irritated look on her face.

"At least we're not getting shot at or bombed this time," she sighs.

"You know, aggression isn't the answer to everything," says another frustratingly familiar voice.

"Oh, no, not you!" Klaus groans. Words cannot describe how little patience Klaus has for this self-righteous, pretty boy angel.

"Yes, it's me," Castiel says.

"Be nice, Nik," Rebekah says sternly.

"I can't believe that I'm stuck here with-"

"Hey!" The guard snaps. "Stop yapping and get in the corner-all of you!"

"Or what?" Klaus says.

"Or this," the guard says, pointing to a rather archaic looking crossbow hanging on the wall behind him. "Specially designed for you."

"Just do as he says," Rebekah says. "Please, Nik, don't make this difficult."

Klaus looks at his sister. She looks exhausted. She really was afraid back there and so was he.

So with a sigh, he joins her and Castiel in the corner of the cell.

"Now face the back wall!" The guard orders.

They do. Klaus grudgingly.

"Alright, bring in the new prisoner," they hear the man call to someone. Klaus stares at the back wall as someone comes shuffling into the cell. There's a carving of a smiley face.

Then the cell door slams shut. Klaus doesn't have to turn around to recognize the next voice he hears.

"Will someone explain to me what the hell is going on?"

Klaus smiles slowly as he turns around. Rebekah gasps.

"Damon Salvatore," Klaus smirks. "What a pleasure to run into you here."

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing guys, I really, truly appreciate it! It doesn't matter if your review is one word or a hundred, I genuinely love them:)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Chain Part 2

**Get ready for some crazy shit.**

* * *

><p>Sam smiles to himself.<p>

It can be oddly entertaining watching his brother struggle with his feelings. Especially when he isn't particularly accustomed to feeling them.

Sam sits silently in the corner of their prison cell, watching as Dean stands on the other side, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. His sharp, green ayes dart about, restless.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Elena are leaning against the wall as Stefan gives her supposedly helpful information regarding vampirism. Stefan's posture is seemingly relaxed while Elena's back is straight. The entire time, Elena fiddles with the daylight ring Stefan had given her back before they got bombed. He'd said it was his brother's.

"If we were back home, I'd tell you to take from our blood bank, but since we're here-"

"She has to eat people?" Dean interrupts him. Elena flinches. Both he and Sam had realized a long time ago that feeding was a blurry line for them. Elena insists that she never drink human blood, but Stefan had mentioned before that his brother had occasionally fed on people. And his brother dated Elena. How that worked out exactly, Sam wasn't sure.

"No. There's always animal blood. And if not, she can have mine." Stefan says with his usual self-sacrificing expression.

"Stefan, stop," Elena says. "You're going to be as hungry as me by the time I need to feed."

"We'll be fine," Sam says. "Gabriel just wants to keep torturing us. So, as long as we stay calm, we'll be fine. He hasn't killed us yet."

"Sam, none of what you just said is at all helpful," Dean says, rubbing his forehead.

"I'm just trying to keep everyone calm, Dean," he replies with a frown. He should know to expect this kind of behavior from Dean by now.

"Calm? Sam, Gabriel can do whatever the hell he wants with us and we're letting him. He just firebombed us! Ten times more than he even needed to!" Dean says, waving his hands about hysterically. "And stop with those damn puppy dog eyes!"

"Fine, what do you suggest, then?" Sam asks with his best attempt at patience. "We're sitting in a jail with two vampires whose super strength, speed, and compulsion can't help us right now. You and I most certainly can't do anything to bust us out of here-"

"So we do nothing?" Dean says sharply. "Great. Just great." And he begins pacing.

There is a pause before Elena, brown eyes following him, says, "Getting out of this prison is meaningless if he'll just zap us someplace else."

"Well, I don't think any of us are any closer to figuring this crap out than we were yesterday." Stefan says in exasperation. He glances toward the cell door. "When's that guard coming back?"

Dean huffs. "Why? You planning on making him into dinner?"

"Maybe." Stefan mutters.

"Sam, why do you think you're here?" Elena asks, ignoring the negative energy radiating from the other half of the cell.

"You mean what did I do?" He sighs. "I guess I'm here-" he glances at Dean hesitantly. "Because of the kind of brother I've been to Dean. I left him to rot in purgatory."

Dean shakes his head, "Sam, you haven't done anything."

"Yes, I have," Sam says forcefully. "See, this is why you're so stuck, Dean, it's because you can't admit things. You can't admit that you need to forgive yourself."

"You don't understand-"

"HA!" Sam barks suddenly, causing everyone to jump. "That's funny. It sounded like you just tried to tell me that I don't understand what it's like not to forgive myself. Well, I do, Dean. In fact, _everyone_ here does because WE'RE ALL HERE IN THIS FUCKING HELL HOLE!"

"Oh, stop talking like you've been through so much more than me, okay? All that crap you're talking about going through? I was there too."

"I'm just saying that sometimes you're so invested in doing what's best for me that you forget to do what's best for you. You can talk to me about things, you know."

"Have you been talking to her?" Dean demands, pointing accusingly at Elena, who is silently watching their exchange, eyes flicking back and forth between the two worriedly. "Because it's like I'm listening to a broken record."

"It's so nice to be on the outside of this kind of brotherly conversation for once," Stefan comments pleasantly.

Ignoring Stefan, Sam says, "Don't you think that if two people who care about you are saying it, then you should probably listen?"

Dean doesn't say anything and just turns away from them.

"Here comes that guard," Stefan says lightly as they hear footsteps approach. And sure enough, there he is.

The four of them watch the man expectantly as the keys jingle in his hand. In his other hand is a crossbow pointed at them.

"Where are the others?" Elena asks him.

The guard glances down at Elena stoically. He appraises her as if checking if she's trying to manipulate him. When he decides that her question is harmless, he swings the door open and says, "The other four are in a different wing." He pulls a long chain out of his bag. Hanging from the chain are several pairs of handcuffs.

"Four?" Elena asks. "How is there-?"

"You. Come here," he says, nodding at Stefan. "Don't try anything funny."

"Don't worry, he's not one for comedy," Dean says. Stefan glances at the other three before slowly walking to the guard, who glares at Dean for a moment before slapping a pair of purple cuffs on Stefan's wrists.

"AARRGGH!" Stefan shouts as his skin sizzles and he clenches his fists. He scowls at the guard who just looks at Sam expectantly.

"The long haired one next or the shorter one dies," He points the crossbow at Dean. Sam moves to stand next to Stefan, whose arms are shaking from the constant burn of the vervain. The guard locks the cuffs around Sam's wrists.

Dean is next. Then Elena. Soon they're all cuffed in a line. Sam smirks as he notices Dean carrying the chain up, as if keeping the vervain covered metal from brushing Elena's skin. He tries to be inconspicuous about it, but both Sam and Stefan notice and they share a knowing look. What the hell, Dean can use some happiness. He deserves it.

"Where are you taking us?" Stefan asks.

"I'm not taking you anywhere." He opens the door and holds it wide open. "You can go."

Baffled, the group stands silent for several seconds, glancing between the guard's crossbow and the exit. Then they make a run for the door all at once, causing a brief entanglement as their line turns into a clump. Sam's long limbs get caught on somebody and Stefan accidentally elbows Dean in the face.

"Dude, watch it!"

"Whose foot is on mine?"

The guard watches in amusement as they stop and step one by one through the door.

"He's just letting us go?" Dean asks gruffly, struggling not to stomp on Sam's feet in front of him.

"There must be a catch," Elena says as they stumble down a long hallway with enormous difficulty.

The catch is immediately realized when they push open the first door they see.

Sam feels a breeze hit his face and his heart sinks.

It's a maze. A very dark, ominous maze. The path before them seems to branch in countless different directions, some into darkness and others into dead ends.

"Lead the way," Sam says to Stefan. It is pitch black now and Sam and Dean can't see anymore as Stefan pulls them through. Every so often, Sam feels a branch scrape his shoulder.

"Finally, a somewhat familiar pastime: stumbling around in the dark," Stefan says.

"I'm assuming that's sarcasm," Sam says. "Otherwise, I don't know what the hell you've been doing back home."

"Oh, the usual," Stefan says bitterly. "Saving people from dying, trying not to murder anyone, yada yada yada."

"You know, you're a pretty cynical guy," Sam comments, looking this way and that uselessly.

"Try over a hundred years of making the same mistakes over and over again," Stefan replies, swatting at a rather intrusive branch. "I fell in love with two girls with the same face and I didn't even get either of them. Not for very long anyway."

"You're talking about Elena. Dean mentioned something about doppelgängers." Sam says.

"Which I still don't understand, by the way," Dean says from behind him, trudging carefully.

"A long time ago a witch created two groups of doppelgängers," Elena explains. "Nature's way of balancing the creation of two truly immortal beings."

"So for centuries there have been beings that look like me and Elena," Stefan says. "It's a bit of a nuisance to be honest."

"You fell in love with one of Elena's doppelgängers?" Dean asks.

"She was a bitch."

"Huh. How many are there?"

"They're all gone now."

"Man, I can't imagine . . . dozens of Stefans running around." Dean says.

"Ha-ha," Stefan says.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Dean says. "Nature doesn't like to be messed with."

* * *

><p>They've been walking for about half an hour when Elena begins to hear voices. She recognizes each of them instantly, though none of them are in sight. From the sound of it, they're arguing.<p>

"Oh, hurry up, will you?"

That's Klaus.

"I do not appreciate your forceful tone."

There's Cas.

"Stop bickering, you two, honestly," Rebekah's voice snaps. They sound as if they're getting closer.

Elena is almost happy to hear them. She hears Dean snort, "At least we're not the only ones at each other's throats." He glances back at her blindly, "Not that I meant to make a comment about-er- throats, or whatever-"

She laughs slightly, "I got it, Dean."

She sees one side of his mouth briefly turn upwards in the darkness. Her heart performs a tiny somersault and she smiles to herself.

Then another voice speaks.

"Could you three be any more irritating? You're making me wish I were still dead."

Elena freezes. "Stefan, who is that?"

He's silent. They stop walking.

"_Stefan_, who is that?" She tries again more desperately.

She hears the jingle of the chain as Stefan pulls them forward slowly.

"Damon?" He whispers.

Elena steps back slightly. "Oh, shit." The chain is completely taut now as she drags it back.

"What?" Dean asks as she inadvertently pulls him with her.

She shakes her head vigorously. "No, it's not. It's not him, it's a trick-"

She barely feels Dean's eyes squinting at her as she peers in panic through the dark. She's looking for blue eyes. Oh, no. No. No. No. She feels the resistance as she and Stefan rush in opposing directions. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean are being yanked back and forth like yo-yo's.

Elena's already stopped breathing and her fingers curl around the chain.

"Stefan?" the beautiful voice says. It sounds like he's smiling. "It's been a long time, brother."

"Y-you're supposed to be dead," Stefan says with an shaky laugh.

"Yeah, no shit, so are you." Damon says, slapping his brother on the shoulder. Chains ring against each other.

"How touching," Klaus comments dryly from directly behind Damon.

"You know what I mean, Damon," Stefan says. Elena remains silent.

"That's the brother?" Dean mutters to Sam. There's a shift in his voice. Elena vaguely notices Sam shrug. Her brown eyes stare blankly at the man standing in front of Stefan.

"I already met the angel," Damon says. "Klaus and Barbie Klaus over here filled me in on what's going on, and I'm not gonna lie- doesn't sound fun." He squints behind him, "Those the Winchesters?"

Stefan nods.

Dean stares into the darkness. "I'd love to shake your hand, but I can't see you or move my arms. Like at all." He jerks his arms forward to demonstrate.

"And I'd love to say it's a pleasure, but-" Damon grins and gestures around them. "That's not really what I'd call this place. I'm Damon. You must be Dean and Sam."

"That's right," Sam says.

Elena barely hears the group as they begin to contemplate a plan. She's standing behind Dean. Hiding, really. She doesn't know what to do or what to say or how she even feels. Should she say hi? No, that's stupid-

Damon steps forward. "Elena?"

There is an unsettling silence as the attention turns to her.

"I almost didn't realize you were there," Damon says, his voice suddenly nervous, a stark contrast to his initial charisma. "Were you holding your breath?"

She doesn't answer, but her hands are gripped tightly on the metal attached to her arms. It burns but she can't move. She feels her vampire heart nearly come to a complete stop.

"Elena," Damon says again, more softly, reaching out his phantomlike, pale hand. His dark eyebrows shadow his eyes.

"We thought you were dead," she says instead of answering, much louder than she'd intended. "Stefan and I mourned you. We had your funeral. We had one for Bonnie and Jeremy and Matt-where are they? Where are they, huh?"

"Elena-"

"What?!" she snaps sharply. For a moment they stare at each other. Elena feels a tiny tug on the chain as the three other men attached to her shift uncomfortably.

Damon shakes his head with a warm smile on his face, "You're not angry at me, Elena. You're too good for that."

Elena rolls her eyes, "Oh, please-"

"Elena!" Stefan says. "Just-not now. Please."

And at that moment Elena bites her own tongue. She knows that Stefan had never really accepted his brother's death and that he'd suffered more than she had. But they'd always believed that there was always a way for them to come back. Always. At least that's what Elena had tricked herself into thinking for a long time. She takes a deep breath and lifts her eyes to really meet Damon's. She sees electric blue and can't breathe. Can't think.

He smiles at her like he used to.

With one corner of his mouth higher than the other.

His eyes are just as bright.

He's just as light. Just as dark.

She knows she's not angry at him, but at her old acquaintance, Death. He's always around her, but never there _for_ her. He couldn't care less about her, but he always visits, taking and taking and taking. There was a time when Elena thought that one day she'd be left with nothing. Then Death would finally have to take her. Then she could stop feeling like this.

But that was before.

"Elena?" Damon asks. She'd forgotten how much she missed his voice.

She takes a deep, deep breath, "Hello, Damon."

. . .

There isn't a sound.

Not even the wind hitting leaves.

Not even Klaus or Rebekah find something obnoxious to say.

"Well isn't this awkward?" another voice says, making them all jump. Elena's brown eyes widen even more. It sounds like-

"Alaric?" Damon says in genuine surprise. "Well, this just turned into a premature reunion. I didn't expect to see all of us together again until we were all dead. Unless we _are_ all dead."

Elena feels like this is just a joke at this point. Death just loves to rip out her heart and say, 'just kidding!', and force it back into her chest.

Alaric stands just behind Elena looking highly amused. His sandy hair seems cleaner and more put together than usual. There's something . . . unfamiliar about his smile.

"Hello, Damon," he says, smirking.

Elena's reaction of complete shock and bewilderment is interrupted when Dean leans toward Elena, "Who's this, now?"

She blinks, "Alaric."

"Yeah, I got that."

Elena rolls her eyes, "He looked after me and my brother." He nods, understanding. She looks down and sees Dean holding onto her arm protectively. She smiles, even in these strange circumstances. At least she can still smile.

"What are you doing here?" Rebekah demands. Her last experience with Alaric had been decidedly negative. And original vampires aren't really known for their ability to let go of grudges.

"I'm here to help," Alaric says simply. Then something in Elena's mind clicks.

"Alaric?" she says again.

"Yes, we've established that already, darling," Klaus says rather impatiently. Out of all the people there, he'd be the most disgruntled about being tied to someone else. He has people issues. And they run pretty deep.

Elena shakes her head and stares at her old friend, "Alaric, you don't seem like yoursel-"

"Sam?" It's a woman's voice that interrupts her.

Elena feels both Sam and Dean stiffen. _Now who is this?_

"J-Jess?" Sam whispers. His eyes dart left and right through the dark, searching for the voice's source.

"Yes, it's me, Sam," she says. Just like Alaric, something in her voice sounded off. Disconnected.

Sam gasps, "Jess, what-how-?"

"Would someone please tell me what the _hell_ is going on?!" Dean yells in frustration.

Cas just looks incredibly confused, "I do not know any of these people-"

Elena finally spots the woman. It's as if she blinks into sight right next to Alaric. She's tall, blonde, and beautiful. Sam's glancing around frantically for his living-dead girlfriend, cursing his human vision. Elena and Dean try to grab him and calm him down, but he doesn't seem to be listening. No one knows what to do as Alaric raises one hand slightly and snaps his fingers.

* * *

><p>When they open their eyes next they're in an interrogation room, like what would be seen in a procedural cop show. There is a singular metal chair in the middle of the empty room. The sudden bright light is shocking after that long stretch of time in the dark.<p>

"Of course they just wanted to watch us wander about a maze for entertainment," Rebekah grumbles, itching at her scabbing wrists.

"On the contrary," Jess says, flipping her hair behind her. "You just made our job easier. Universe jumping can be a pain in the ass. You all just met us halfway."

"I'm sorry, but what is going on?" Castiel asks.

"You'll find out soon enough, babe," Jess says as Alaric stares coldly at each of them.

"We'll take Elena first," Alaric says. Next to him, Jess walks up to Elena and without looking at Sam, who's staring at her in shocked sadness, she unlocks Elena's cuffs, revealing angry burns that encircle her wrists. "The rest of you go into the next room."

The group, still chained, gets forcefully ushered next door. There is a one-way window in the wall, giving them a clear view of Elena as Jess shoves her into the metal interrogation chair. It scrapes against the floor noisily when she gets forced into it. Alaric and Jess stand on either side, staring down at her coldly.

"Alaric, what's going on?" Elena asks, eyes wide.

"Come on, Elena, you know that's not Ric," Dean hears Damon say as they all watch helplessly from the other side of the glass.

"You know what you've done, Elena," Alaric says. The harsh light of the ceiling lamp hits her face.

"What? What're you-?"

"What would your parents think, Elena? I'll tell you what they'd do if they saw you now: they'd kill you. Look at you, you're a monster."

Elena flinches, feeling like she'd been slapped. Never had she expected those words to come from his mouth. The mouth that once told her that he would never leave her and Jeremy.

"You've never met my parents," Elena says angrily. "You have no right to talk about them."

"Oh, yeah? Well, what about me? Can I talk about myself? Can I talk about how disappointed I am in you?" He leans in closer. On the other side of the glass Dean can see Elena's hair flutter because Alaric's breath beating against it.

"You're not Alaric," Elena says with certainty. "Your words mean nothing to me."

"That's just not true, Elena. I am very much your deceased guardian, and Jess here is very much Sam Winchester's dead girl."

"Well, what the hell do you want me to say?!" Elena snaps. "That I'm a bad person or a bad vampire? Do you want me to talk about my parents? What? What do you want?"

"Actually, you're here to tell us about the Salvatores," Jess says.

In the other room, everyone turns to look at Stefan and Damon, who just grimace. Dean has a feeling that this is about to turn ugly.

Elena raises her eyebrows, "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Is it true that you were in love with both brothers?" Alaric asks, circling her.

"I-yes," she answers, looking horrified and immediately slapping a hand over her mouth.

"Don't look so surprised. We've just placed an honesty spell on the chair," Jess says, nodding to Elena's seat to which she is stuck.

"Why?" Elena pleads.

"How else would we get you to admit things you're most ashamed of?" Alaric says, grinning as if it were so obvious. "So which one did you love more?"

Dean notices Stefan and Damon avoiding eye contact. Well, their brotherly reunion was relatively short lived. He wonders if that could ever happen to him and Sam, something getting between them. Clearly, the Salvatores still loved each other, but Dean can't imagine what they must've been like both loving Elena. He and Sam have enough problems as is with a normal human's lifespan, but Stefan and Damon have had over a century's worth. Dean pushes away the slight jealousy he feels long enough to make room for sympathy, however briefly.

"I loved them both equally," Elena replies.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did." She says. "Honesty chair, remember?"

Alaric looks slightly peeved, but continues, "You ruined their relationship."

"Don't listen to him, Elena," Stefan mutters.

"They love each other. They won't admit it because they're men, but they do," Elena says.

Jess tsks, shaking her head, blonde hair swaying, "That's denial, honey."

"I don't know you, okay? So, no offense, but there's no reason you should be telling me what I-"

"You ruined their relationship," Alaric repeats, crouching in front of her. "They've been brothers for more than ten times your lifespan, and you come along and screw it up."

"Alright, that's it!" Damon says, marching towards the door leading to the interrogation room. The sharp, sudden nature of his movements bring Klaus, Rebekah, and Cas along with him, much to their displeasure.

Damon barges into the surprisingly unlocked room with them in tow, yelling, "Look, Elena hasn't done any of this bullshit, so stop it. You really want to know about me and my brother? Ask me. I'll tell you all about us."

"You don't get it, Damon. You never did," Alaric says. "We're trying to help her. A concept you're probably unfamiliar with."

"Damon, stop pulling!" Rebekah whines as Damon steps closer to Alaric.

Damon ignores her, "Helping her? You're attacking her-!"

"Oh come on, Damon, you and I both know what a real attack looks like," Alaric says with a chilling smile, and he swiftly slams his hand into Elena's neck, grabbing hold of it. She gags, clawing at his hand which has a surprisingly firm grip for a . . . ghost.

Immediately, Damon rushes forward, in turn dragging the three others attached to him. Cas stumbles after tripping over Klaus's feet and they all go down.

"When I get out of these cuffs, I'm going to murder somebody," Klaus says, attempting to extract himself from Castiel.

Jess just looks down at them with contempt.

By this time, the second group-led by Stefan and Dean on both ends of their chain-had burst through the door, with Sam's long limbs struggling to keep from tripping. The effort is futile, however, because Stefan trips over Damon and he falls at Elena's feet. Dean groans from next to him, rubbing his arm in pain.

Alaric laughs and looks at Elena, "You see what you do, Elena? These men are killing themselves for you. You're the cause of all their problems. All I have to do is squeeze just a little-" His fingers close tighter around her throat, "-and they go crazy."

Elena grits her teeth and looks down at her friends, sprawled on the floor, staring up at her. Guilt and remorse are at war behind her eyes. "Please, Alaric, or whoever you are," she swallows. "Stop."

"You're the one hurting them, Elena," he says, "Why don't you stop?"

"How? How can I stop?" she demands.

"Elena, don't listen to him, he's just one of Gabriel's creations trying to rattle you," Klaus says, with a burning smirk that might just rival Gabriel's. "They're trying to get us to admit our sins, well, you can't make me. I've had it with his games. This is the sickest one so far, making a girl believe she's responsible for the lives of both of the Salvatores."

Elena scoffs, despite the hand nearly crushing her airway, "Like you've ever tried to convince me otherwise." Then she shuts her mouth. Damn honesty chair.

"Let her out of that bloody chair, it's ridiculous," Klaus snaps, unphased by her attitude towards him.

"Is that so? Maybe you should be in the chair," Jess says, closing in on him as he gets to his feet. "You're even worse than she is. You're a serial killer, and you expect Rebekah here to stick with you? Talk about delusional-"

"Shut up or I'll rip your head off," Klaus says, his impatience that had been stretched inside him for days finally reaching its limit. Only so much of his power can be questioned before someone gets their heart ripped out.

"Or maybe I'll do it," Rebekah suggests, looking rather thirsty.

"Hey!" Sam says, although he looks rather uncertain. He still stares at Jess.

Alaric lets go of Elena and glances about the room, as if taking his pick of ice cream flavors rather than prisoners. He abruptly snatches Damon from the floor, where he'd been trying to reach Elena.

"It's your turn," he says with a grin. He lifts Damon up, taking Klaus, Rebekah, and Cas too. "You are a leech in your brother's life. Every time he finds happiness, you come in and take it from him. Isn't that right, Stefan?"

Jess pulls Elena out of the chair and puts her back into the chain next to Dean. The vervain cuffs click back around her wrists. Then Jess grabs Stefan and shoves him into the chair.

Stefan closes his eyes and exhales heavily, "Yes."

"There you go," Alaric says. Damon just scowls at him, powerless to defend himself.

"Now listen you son of a bitch," Dean says to him after one look at Elena's furious face. The cuffs resume burning her skin. She still preferred this over the chair. "If this is Gabriel's twisted version of our so called redemption, then I want no part of it."

"Oh, Dean," Sam says sadly. Dean turns to see that Jess had swapped Stefan for Sam in the chair. "Always so hard for you to talk to about things."

"Sam-"

"-always trying to be a tough guy," Sam says.

"Shut up, Sam, not now!"

"See?" Sam says. "You won't even let _me_ talk."

Dean roars, lunging and punching Sam in the face, knocking him out of the chair. Klaus takes his chance, snarling, and leaps onto Alaric, teeth bared. Rebekah joins him. Castiel grabs hold of her, trying to stop her. Jess and Elena are already at punches, Elena just landing a fist in her gut. Damon is happily assisting Klaus, shouting about impersonating his friend, while Stefan tries to separate Sam and Dean. Soon everyone is tangled. There is a splash of blood and a scream. A bone breaks. A man shouts savagely.

And the chain broke.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Mwahaha! That's right guys, a LITERAL chain! Thank you so much for your reviews, I would love to hear your thoughts!<strong>

**Coming up: Some romance!**


	8. Chapter 8: Friends of Friends

**Chapter Eight: Friends of Friends**

**Note: The roles/ relationships of each of the characters are solely based on their individual personalities and how I thought they would have been. Keep in mind that this is a completely different universe. Hope you enjoy:)**

"_It's time to let it go, go out, and start again."_

_Kodaline_

Elena wakes up gasping. Her eyes are hard with adrenaline. After several seconds her breathing slows as she realizes that it was just a dream. All she remembers is feeling sad and helpless, and there was a pair of green eyes.

But it was just a dream.

She blinks, feeling the wetness of her eyes dissipate.

An echo of a deep . . . goodness is left in her chest. There is a void now that it's gone. It feels like the absence of warmth, but at the same time there is relief, like a weight is gone. At least some of it is. She turns her head, facing one wall of her room. Behind that wall is her parents' room.

But they aren't in it.

The slant of Elena's eyebrows steepens as she recalls her father's faint snores that used to drift through the wall. She used to be irritated by it, but now all she wants is to hear it again. To feel like he's there in the next room when she wakes up from a nightmare, only a few steps away.

That's what she'd done as a kid. She'd stumble over to that room and lie in between her parents, embarrassed, but safe. She never told them why she did it but they'd never asked either. Her mother would just look at her with sleepy eyes and say, "Oh, honey," and pat her cheek with a knowing smile. Then she and dad would embrace Elena, and there would be warmth all around. Sleep came easily after that.

But now it is anything but easy. Her head's always heavy with darkness, shadows of her grief. She stares ahead blankly as the sunlight begins to stream steadily through her window blinds. She blinks and looks at it, her brown eyes catching the light.

Elena sighs, feeling ridiculous, and gets out of bed slowly. She glances at the clock. It reads 7:00. She'll be late for school, but she knows that no one will really notice.

She's always been invisible.

* * *

><p>Dean taps his pen aggressively against his desk as Mr. Saltzman takes attendance. Damn, he hates school. With a burning passion. His dad had always dumped him and Sam at school while he was working. Like school would ever get him anywhere. He knows he'll end up in the military just like his dad and his dad's dad. High school just feels so meaningless in comparison. And kids always talk about such insignificant things. His father is out serving his country, probably risking his life, and girls here are complaining about split ends.<p>

Dean looks to his left and scowls in irritation. That broody Salvatore kid is slouching in his seat, listening to music. He looks to his right and sees those two blonde cheerleaders giggling and gossiping. He doesn't remember their names- something like Becky and Carrie- but they were 'whispering' too loudly for Dean's taste.

"I mean, I could go with your brother but then there's Stefan," the blonde one says with a conflicted look. If Dean had been in a more understanding mood, he might've given her the benefit of the doubt. She's a high school girl, she's supposed to talk about boys, right? But he isn't in his understanding mood.

"Nik might be hurt if you went with Stefan," the other blonde one says, causing the first one to look embarrassed. They glance in the brooding kid's direction, "Did he ask you?"

She sighs. "No, but-"

"Hey, excuse me, Carla?" Dean says in aggravation. This is exactly the type of conversation that defines trivial. "Could you just pipe down a little bit? The whole class doesn't need to know your business."

"My name's Caroline," she corrects, turning red.

"Just ignore him," the other blonde says, giving him a sour glare.

Dean just resumes tapping his pen. He doesn't know why he's so on edge today. He'd woken up this morning feeling empty, like he'd lost something important to him. There wasn't anything . . . wrong, really. Just off.

"Dude, this class blows," a voice from directly behind him groans. Dean turns his head slightly to look at the boy.

"You say that every day, Damon," Dean grins. He's one of the only people in this school that he can tolerate speaking to. He has a feeling that the other boy thinks the same about him.

"It gets truer each time," Damon says with a smirk. He peers over at Stefan with a scoff, "God, look at him. He got into this class because he's smart, but never pays any attention."

"I'm guessing he got the good genes," Dean says, his pen now on the verge of snapping in half. "Your uncle must be so proud."

"Yeah, no kidding. He's got that tortured soul thing down to a tee. Got all these girls on him like bees to honey-" he cuts off suddenly, taking a short sniff, "You smell that?"

Dean inhales, smelling the very specific scent of marijuana. He glances towards the back of the classroom, which usually consists of either the stoners or the slackers. "It's that kid, Cas."

They both turn to look at him. He's leaning back in his seat, looking very relaxed but at the same time as if he's thinking deeply, contemplating the air in front of him. His blue eyes are glazed and his black hair is in such disarray that it looks like he'd put a lot of thought into placing it just so.

"Saltzman's too cool. Twenty bucks says he notices but doesn't do anything," Damon says, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Nope," Dean says. "He's too cool _not_ to do anything about it."

"Twenty for me, then," Damon says, patting his pocket.

Just as Dean is about to take him up on that, the classroom door swings open softly. That girl that usually sits in front of him walks in without a sound. Behind him, Dean notices Damon go uncharacteristically quiet.

The girl- Elena he thinks her name is- sits down and lets out a breathless huff. Mr. Saltzman still hasn't noticed her tardiness as he is facing the board, drawing an elaborate and accurate likeness of the Battle of the Bulge. The girl next to her seems to be the only one who acknowledges her presence.

"Hey, Elena," she whispers.

"Hey, Bon," Elena replies with a wide smile. It's a very bright smile, the kind that Dean doesn't see often. "Did I miss anything important?"

Bonnie shakes her head, "No. Unless you count Caroline's date dilemma as important."

Caroline frowns at the both of them, but pays no further mind and continues conversing with Becky, or whatever her name is.

Elena exhales, "Okay, good. It's just, well, I woke up a little late and there was this thing with Jeremy and he wouldn't-"

"Elena, you don't have to explain," Bonnie says, placing a hand over Elena's comfortingly.

"Uh-oh, lesbian alert," Damon whispers quite loudly. Immediately, both girls look at him. Dean laughs just a little.

Damon had picked on those two since elementary school. Dean hadn't known any of them for very long but as soon as he'd moved here he'd realized that Damon is the only one who pays them any attention, especially Elena. Even now that Dean's friends with him he doesn't understand their undefinable relationship. Perhaps they each have a crush on the other and they'd never really gotten past the bickering phase.

"Hey," Damon whispers. "Hey, Gilbert."

Dean sees Elena peek back at them from behind a curtain of wavy, brown hair. Her eyes move between him and Damon, eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I heard a little rumor about your little bro," he smirks. "Word is he might finally get arrested."

"Shut up, Damon," Bonnie says, yanking a notebook from her backpack.

"Looks like Bon-Bon's got a crush on little Gilbert. What d'you think about that, Elena?" Damon says, wagging his eyebrows at her. Elena just blinks at him, seemingly unimpressed, and turns to face the front of the room again.

"Ooh, cold shoulder this time," Dean says to Damon, trying not to laugh at the disappointment on his friend's face. "You're losing your touch, man."

Damon shrugs, "There's always gym class." He winks and leans back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

Dean shakes his head, smiling, and tries to focus his attention back on World War II.

* * *

><p>"Sad."<p>

Klaus looks up from his sketchbook to find Caroline glancing between him and his drawing. "What?"

"It looks sad," she says, the sunlight from the hallway window glowing around her blonde hair. Like a halo. "You look sad."

"Do I really?" Klaus asks, eyebrows raised.

"Yup," she says, "You're sitting alone in the hallway. Your face is buried in that sketchbook- which is equally as depressing, I might add." She tilts her head slightly, "But it is beautiful. I'll give you that."

"What's a little sadness for the price of beauty, then?" Klaus says.

"I think you saying that might be even sadder," Caroline says, moving to sit next to him. She sits hugging her knees as her eyes follow people as they walk past them. "How do you choose?" she asks after a pause.

"Choose what?"

"Who to draw," she replies, nodding at what he is currently working on, which is a portrait of a girl that Caroline sees standing across the hall by her locker. She has deep red hair and is staring blankly in another girl's direction.

Klaus glances at the stranger and shrugs, "I can relate to sad things." He looks at Caroline, "So, are you waiting for Rebekah?"

"No. Why?" Caroline asks, confused.

"Because you two are friends," he says simply. "Since when do you try and play nice with her big brother?"

"We're friends, aren't we?" Caroline says, flashing him a blinding smile. _Her American accent is annoyingly endearing_, he thinks briefly, then puts down his pencil.

"We're . . . friends of friends," he says. "You're a friend of my sister's and I'm a friend of your 'friend', Stefan."

"Why'd you just say 'friend' like that?"

"Like what, Caroline, I said it probably four times-"

"You said it like Stefan and I aren't really friends," she says.

"Well, I don't really know what you two are."

"Friends."

"I think you like him," Klaus says, picking up his pencil again and adding some darkness to the girl's face, somehow making it look more sad.

There is a pause. "Rebekah told me that you might want to go to the Winter Dance with me?"

Klaus doesn't look at her, "She says a lot of things."

Caroline winces, looking slightly rejected. "Oh. Okay."

The silence this time is agonizing, and all that can be heard above the slight murmur of hallway chatter is the sliding of Klaus's pencil against paper. He keeps his eyes down, the whole time listening to her breathing. She's sitting closely, but more stiffly than when she'd first sat down, and her pale hair enters his line of vision just a little.

He is surprised, then, by how forceful her voice is when she next speaks, "You don't have to be so cold, you know."

This time he looks at her. Her eyes are angry, eyebrows pushed together.

"I actually like you," she says. "I actually did think we were friends, but apparently I missed something."

In the back of Klaus's mind, there are flashes of those times when Caroline had come to their house to hang out with Rebekah. Those times when Rebekah had left them alone together for certain stretches of time. Then he remembers something else, but it can't be real. He'd dreamt of it before, but for some reason it forces itself to the forefront of his mind at this exact moment.

_It's a vision of her on her bed. Her body is limp with exhaustion and she's looking up at him. He says that he can help her and soon his arms are around her. She clutching onto one of his wrists tightly, as if her life depends on it. He feels blood._

Now he looks at her face, looking hurt and angry.

"What do you want from me, Caroline?" he asks, feeling a strange snap inside of him and a sudden vulnerability.

Taken aback but still upset, "I want you to tell me the truth. . . I want you to stop caring about if you're Rebekah's tough-ass brother, or a tortured artist, or whatever excuse you make up to justify you ignoring me. I'm tired of you treating me like something unobtainable. I'm just a girl."

With that, she stands and walks away from him, and he watches her as her figure disappears down the hallway.

* * *

><p>"Five – six - seven - eight!"<p>

The group of bubbly cheerleaders commence a zealous and enthusiastic routine, complete with waving arms and energetic leaps. Next to them is the football team, making all kinds of manly shouts. Loud whooping ensues when Matt, the quarterback, waves at Rebekah, co-captain of the cheerleading squad.

Across the field from all of this are the P.E. classes, with students ranging from incredibly athletic to complete couch potato.

Physical Education is the only class that Dean and Sam have together, and they love it. They have a competitive nature that makes the forty-five minute class period feel like ten minutes. What makes it more fun is the fact that both Damon and Stefan are also in their class, and they're just as competitive.

Today, a particularly cold mid-November afternoon, is one in which they're playing capture the flag. The students, girls and boys, stand about in huddles awaiting instruction.

"I know it's cold," Mr. Balthazar says with an annoyingly chipper grin on his face. "But damnit, we're going to have some fun!" He rubs his hands together as the teenagers grumble. He points to Dean then Damon, "You two are team captains."

Damon slaps a hand on Dean's back and makes a face at him.

"You're going down, buddy," Dean says.

Damon laughs, eyes sparkling, "Okay, Winchester, you take first pick." He gestures widely to the rather unimpressive bunch of kids. The only two looking even remotely interested are Sam and Stefan.

"I'll take . . ." Dean eyes them thoughtfully. "Stefan."

Stefan gives his big brother a salute and stands behind Dean, who nods.

"I'll take Sammy, then," Damon says. Sam winces.

"Don't call me Sammy," he says, moving to stand behind him. He flips his hair out of his face in preparation. Damon just smirks.

Dean looks back at the group, thinking strategically. There are about five guys and five girls. The guys are, for the most part, rather active looking. Reliable. Most of the girls, on the other end of the spectrum, look as if they can't care less. The exception, unsurprisingly, is Elena, who doesn't seem particularly interested in being a part of their testosterone battle, but is at least not ogling them or the football team in the meantime. In fact, she doesn't seem affected by any show of muscle at all. Maybe Damon had been right to call her out on being a lesbian.

"Elena," Dean says suddenly, causing everyone to look at him in surprise.

She furrows her eyebrows and points to herself, "Me?"

"Yup." _There is no other Elena here._

"Are you sure?" she asks. Her dark hair is held behind her head in a tight ponytail, revealing her doubtful face. Now that he thinks about it, choosing Elena is a brilliant idea. She's one of the few girls in their class who can keep up. And it would bug the hell out of Damon.

Dean nods, "Definitely." Damon looks back and forth between Dean and Elena in confusion. Dean nearly laughs at the apparent outrage on his face.

* * *

><p>Elena stands next to Stefan as Dean barks orders at them like a true military man. She admires how alive his green eyes are as he goes into strategy. It almost reminds her of something-<p>

"Stefan," he says, "You and I will handle Sam and Damon. Elena, since you're the fastest, you'll get the flag. They'll probably be expecting the more competitive guys to go for the flag, but still, be careful."

She nods, "Okay, got it."

"I hope I can trust you with this, okay?" Dean says, looking directly at her. "We're going to take those sons of bitches down."

An unsettling feeling hits her stomach at the mention of trust. For some reason she feels as if she'd earned his trust already. It's a familiar sort of déjà vu that reminds her of that void in her chest from this morning. She looks up at Dean and sees a strange expression on his oddly familiar face. She sees the heat from his mouth float out in clouds into the icy air as he breathes.

_She remembers a chain. And fear._

His face mirrors her own in momentary confusion when Stefan says, "Looks like they're ready."

Elena snaps out of her musings and is immediately thrust into a crowd of people. The whistle had blown and the game had begun. She hears masculine battle cries as Dean and Stefan collide with Damon and Sam. Breathing heavily, Elena fights to get around the other team's defense, taking the brunt of several elbows, knees, and fists.

"Oh, suck it up!" she hears the coach shout at one of the girls who had extracted herself from the group and stepped aside. "This is a contact sport, get used to it!" The girl pouts at him before reluctantly rejoining the throng of competitive violence. She shrieks as she's immediately tripped and she falls face-first into the grass.

Elena doesn't know whether to grimace or laugh, but pushes on, throwing one foot in front of the other trying to outrun several people who'd begun to tail her. The icy air slices at her face as the opposing team's flag all the way down the field grows closer and closer.

She hears an aggravated yelp behind her and turns to see Stefan tackling a particularly aggressive player. They both hit the ground.

"I got you, Elena, go!" Stefan yells, waving frantically with one hand. "Run!"

Coming up around him is Dean, who is hot on Sam's heels. Elena runs just that much faster for fear of the look of singular determination on Sam's face. The tall boy's long strides inch him much to close to her for comfort. If he'd extended his hand, he'd reach her with ease. Dean's feet pound faster, and _smack_! His body collides with Sam and down they go.

"You've got this!" he shouts to Elena as Sam attempts to shove him off. "Grab it! Grab the flag!"

The flag is only feet away when Elena comes to an abrupt halt. Damon had grabbed onto her arm and yanked her back.

"Come on, Gilbert, no way you thought it'd be that easy," Damon smirks. He pushes her so that he stands between her and the flag, eyes alight with challenge.

* * *

><p>Dean looks up the field, still holding Sam, to find Elena being blocked by Damon.<p>

He stands looking down at her with his electric blue eyes, waiting for her next move. Dean sees his mouth moving with that one corner turned up, just like he always does. He's trying to work his magic on her and that can't happen.

"Elena!" Dean yells, just as Elena bolts around Damon. His arms wrap around her like a bear's hug and she kicks ferociously.

"This has to be a fucking foul!" Elena shouts at the coach as Damon easily carries her away from the flag.

Coach Balthazar shrugs as Dean leaps off of Sam and runs for the flag. But before he can even get close Elena kicks Damon in the crotch, sending him to his knees, and bounds past him. She rips the flag from the ground and holds it up in triumph, the winter breeze making it wave.

"YES!" Dean roars, running towards her. He holds both hands up and she high fives him, a grin on her face. Dean puts his arms around her and squeezes. "Great job, Elena."

The fresh smell of her hair enters his system and his mind goes blank.

She lets go of him, a crease forming between two perplexed eyebrows, and she lets go of him. Her eyes move to Damon, who's still on the ground. Dean watches as she walks over to him and offers him her hand. Damon looks at her, then reaches out to her.

_Suddenly Dean sees a shiny floor. Damon is crawling across it, chains clinking around his wrists, trailing behind him. He crawls his way towards Elena. She's sitting in a metal chair, her brown eyes sad and afraid. Her dark hair collects to one side of her face, looking disheveled and dirty. Her eyes meet Dean's-_

A whistle blows.

"Class is over. Good game, people," Coach says. "Good game.

* * *

><p>For the first time, Dean looks at Elena. Never in all his time since he'd moved to this school had he ever engaged in an actual conversation with her. He'd always sort of just witnessed her and Damon bickering, not really considering her as anything other than that girl that sits in front of him in History. The one that Damon maybe-possibly is in love with.<p>

But what he does know is that she's smart. Day after day of sitting behind her, bored, he got to notice some things. For example, whenever Mr. Saltzman would ask a question that no one knew the answer to, Dean would see her finger start to tap against her desk. Saltzman would glance around the room expectantly until finally writing the wrong answer on the board, because that's the kind of badass teacher he is. Dean would hear Elena huff impatiently.

"That's not right, Ala- Mr. Saltzman," she'd say.

"It's not?" He'd say with a smile. "Then, tell me, how do you know that if you so clearly didn't know the answer a couple seconds ago?"

They'd go back and forth like a brother and sister for about five minutes until Elena would finally answer the question.

Dean had also noticed that when no one is looking, she looks sad. Her eyes go unfocused and she stares somewhere that no one can see.

When he'd gotten home after their little game of capture the flag, Dean was suddenly overcome with a flurry of images all involving Elena. Today, Dean takes special care to watch her, wondering why on earth he kept seeing her in a metal coffin. Then surrounded by fire. Then in chains.

He's busy staring at the back of her head in History class when a certain combination of names catches his attention.

"Dean Winchester and Elena Gilbert," Mr. Saltzman reads. "Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes-"

Elena swivels around to face Dean, notebook and pen in hand. "So, I was thinking that we should psychoanalyze Hitler, because I'm guessing most of the class are just going to do D-day or the Holocaust-"

"What's going on?" Dean asks, looking around the room as people start pairing off.

Elena just shakes her head at him, laughing, and says with exaggerated slowness and articulation, "We are go-wing to bee part-ners for a project. Do you want to psy-cho-an-al-lyze Hitler? Bee-cuz, most pee-pol will pro-bob-lee choose-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Dean says, putting a hand up. "Sounds like a good idea."

"You sure?" she asks. "Because I'm open to any ideas-"

"The Hitler thing is fine."

"Okay."

"Alright."

Her arm rests on Dean's desk awkwardly as they sit in silence. Her fingers tap against the wooden surface. Dean's arm lies next to hers, but neither of them seem to notice as they look about the room in attempt to avoid further conversation.

After a moment in which Dean accepts the inevitable, he faces Elena again, this time outwardly staring at her face. His eyes jump from feature to feature, hoping to find anything that would explain his sense of familiarity with her. When she looks back at him, he doesn't look away. Her brown eyes don't look surprised to find his, only curious, and soon enough they're stuck in a staring contest, each of them searching for their answers.

"You two crazy kids alright?" Damon asks, yanking a chair to sit next to them noisily, causing Dean to jump. Damon glances back and forth between the two of them. Behind him, a red headed girl that is supposedly his partner rolls her eyes and pulls out a book.

"Fantastic," Dean says, still looking at Elena, whose mouth twitches slightly in amusement. "You and Charlie are partners?"

"Yup. Luckily for me, she's brilliant. Computer genius. Says our presentation'll be done days ahead of time," Damon says with a wink in said girl's direction. Unfortunately, she's too busy reading to notice, rendering his charms useless. And Dean' pretty sure she's not one to swoon at Damon's smolder. Or any man's smolder for that matter.

"Do you think that every man can be forgiven, Damon?" Elena asks, breaking eye contact with Dean and scratching some notes into her notebook.

"It depends on what they've done," he replies, arching an eyebrow. "Which guy scorned you this time?"

"Hitler."

"Understandable," Damon says, propping an elbow onto the desk, separating their arms. "Charismatic as hell though."

"Reminds me of you," Elena says, smiling.

"You really know you've made it when a woman compares you to the world's most famous killer," he says. "Charming but deadly."

"At least you haven't murdered anyone yet," she says, swatting his elbow off of the desk. She throws Dean a smile and he chuckles back.

"As far as you know," Damon says. He then turns to Dean, "Since when are you two so friendly?"

"Since Saltzman made us partners-"

"Bullshit."

"What do you mean, bullshit?"

"You two were all over each other on the field yesterday."

Dean turns to Elena, "You think that's charming? I feel like that's just him being a jerk."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Damon says, narrowing his eyes at Elena in accusation, "What the hell have you done to my best friend?"

Dean scoffs, "I call you an ass all the time."

"But we're supposed to be asses together!" Damon grumbles.

"She hasn't done anything to me," Dean says, and then in a mock comforting voice, "But don't worry man, I will always love you and your assholery for all time-"

"Save it for baby Winchester, okay?" Damon says rolling his eyes in disgust. He glances briefly at Elena before saying, "I don't need love."

* * *

><p>The locker pops open and a folded piece of paper flutters out. Caroline drops down to pick it up and unfold it. When she sees it she nearly drops it again.<p>

On the small parchment is a drawing of herself. She looks content. Her eyes are bright and alive.

At the bottom of the page in familiar script reads:

_You're more than just a girl._

Caroline puts a hand over her goofily grinning mouth, and her fingers clutch onto the page tightly.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Thanks so much to those reviewing, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know what you think:)<strong>


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